The Criminal's Final Request
by thatauthurinthecorner
Summary: Wes and Rui head out for a vacation outside of Orre only to discover that Cipher has revived itself. After finding N taken prisoner, their journey takes a new direction...one none of them could have seen coming. T for violence, language, and later on suggestive themes. Becomes RuiXN later on This is my first work, so please leave your thoughts.
1. A Grim Rebirth

Rui woke up and looked outside. The day was beautiful, as always.  
"I hope you slept well, mistress."  
An Espeon asked in perfect English, pronouncing mistress as mis-ter-ess rather than miss-tress. She petted it. "As always. So peaceful..."  
She went downstairs, passing a room that Eugun used to own but now was home to a young man named Wes.  
"He looks...different asleep."  
She headed downstairs to make breakfast.  
She started frying some eggs.  
"Hey Pikachu!"  
She layed out some food for it and it ate heartily.  
Rui smiled.  
"Wes's got so much fight money...we should go on vacation! I bet he never has before, it'll be great!"  
Espeon nodded.  
"Yeah, he needs to learn to relax a little. Cipher's gone, after all."  
An Umbreon walked downstairs.  
"Anything to get some excitement."  
It also spoke in English.  
She petted it.  
"I'm sorry so few parts of my life are lethal."  
He smiled.  
"Your cooking gives any gun a run for its money."  
He said jokingly.  
She laughed.

Wes sat up and walked downstairs. In the days past, she'd convinced him to ditch the ankle spikes he used to wear. He didn't have the snag machine on either.  
"So how was your sleep."  
"I had a really weird one. You had green hair, you were raised by talking wolves, and you had a grudge with this sniper lady. Suicune was some kind of deer thing, and I had some kind of demonic worm infestation in my arm. I seriously pray that it wasn't prophetic."  
"Okaaayyyy...scrambled eggs?"  
"Sure why not."  
Rui set out food for Umbreon and Espeon as well, sitting across the table from Wes after serving him some scrambled eggs.  
"Hey, I was wondering if we could...go on vacation?"  
He chewed and swallowed, pausing.  
"That's...not a bad idea. Pack."  
She smiled.  
"So, you're willing to pay?"  
He smiled.  
"I got fight money to spare."  
Espeon grinned.  
"Can we pick where!"  
Rui and Wes laughed.  
"Sure, why not?" Wes answered.  
"Yay!"

Rui packed up, Pikachu on her shoulder.  
Wes didn't own much, but he brought the snag machine just in case. "I hear Hoen's got plenty of sightseeing spots!"  
"Yeah, destination: Hoen! That...sounded a lot better in my head."  
Wes stood.  
"You ready?"  
Rui smiled.  
"Let's see how much of your money I can spend in two weeks."  
"To most guys, that means they're about to be bankrupt."  
"That's one of the perks of being your partner, I have access to your obscenely large personal funding!"  
They returned their Pokemon and walked off, Wes carrying Rui's suitcase and his slightly smaller one.  
Wes and Rui got into his motorcycle.  
"This your first time out of Orre as well?"  
Wes shook his head.  
"I've been to Unova and Hoen a few times...back when Snagem was independent."  
Rui sighed.  
"Sometimes you make me wonder..."

Wes looked forward and they entered Gateon Port.  
"Now where do I park this thing?"  
He said in reference to his motorcycle.  
Rui pointed.  
"There. Same as always. And since everyone knows it's yours, no one dares to try and steal it."  
He laughed.  
"They know what's good for their health then!"  
They parked the motorcycle and found a Hoen-bound ship.  
The two found a boat and boarded.  
"This'll take about two hours...glad I brought my swimsuit!"  
Wes blinked.  
"You live in a desert-"  
"Yeah, so?"  
"Just saying."

They checked into their room and sat down. Wes sent out his Suicune.  
"Nice view isn't it?"  
He said, looking out the window. Suicune nodded.  
"The water's already not looking totally devoid of life.."  
"I'm sure there's an easier way to say that-"  
"I don't care."  
Wes petted the magnificent beast, smiling.  
"Just saying."  
Wes got bored...he tended to do so easily.  
"I'm gonna go see if anyone wants a fight."

Rui shrugged.  
"I'll be here or at the pool!"  
Once he was gone she sent out her only other Pokemon:a Togetic Wes gave her for her 19th birthday recently. "Hi Rui!"  
It piped as she petted it. It flew in a circle.  
"Ooh hey the ocean!"  
It quipped, settling by the window. Rui smiled.  
"Thought you could use some fresh air."  
Wes wandered through the ship, challenging and effortlessly defeating several other passengers.  
Rui looked into the ocean.  
"The sea...it looks so peacefull."  
The Togetic hopped on her shoulder.  
"Peace!"  
It enthusiastically flapped it's wings.  
"You're adorable, but I can see why Wes was so willing to give you up."  
"Eh?"  
Rui laughed, petting it.  
"Oh nothing."  
Wes had won about four matches when he got bored of that as well.  
"Isn't anyone on this ship any good?"  
He sighed and walked over to the mess hall. A certain stand caught his eye.  
_MEAT...MEAT!_

He walked over and bought a literal bucketload of KFP ( Kanto-fried-pidgey).  
A television screen caught Wes's eyes.  
"...with winds of almost one-sixty miles an hour, Hurricane Lucas is baffling meteorologists. It formed in under two hoursed.  
"...and is moving strangely slowly. Updates at seven o'clock."  
"Wait...no it can't be. I eradicated them."  
Wes and Rui sat across from each other.  
"There was a hurricane in the middle of the continent. What's more is, it's staying in place, and-"  
Suddenly the noise of an explosion ricocheted through the ship, which shook violently. Both Rui and Wes fell down, Togetic flying about erratically and going on a terrified rant about some totally irrelevant topic.  
"That...settles it...!"  
"You were right..."  
"They're back."  
As they shakily stood back up, the lights flickered.  
"Come on!"  
Wes ran off, Rui and Togetic following him.

N leaned against a tree, on the verge of crying.  
"My whole life...it was a lie, wasn't it?"  
He looked down.  
"I still have you, though. You'd never abondon me, would you?"  
He said, holding up a pokeball.N sent out the Zoroark.  
"Why...why does everyone hate me?"  
"Don't say that! They haven't met you, Pri-"  
N's face contorted slightly.  
"So sorry N! I...forgot..."  
N petted him.  
"It's okay...after all, you're all I have left."  
N crossed his legs. The Zoroark laid down with its head in N's lap. N started stroking its black fur underneath the ears. His stomache growled.  
"Time to get some food I guess."  
The duo stood.  
"Why? Why didn't you choose freedom over me?"  
The Zoroark tilted its head.  
"I'd never willingly leave you. You know that..."

N chuckled, smiling slightly.  
"Thank you...for staying."  
N kept walking, picking up litter.  
"Stupid, selfish humans..."  
He kicked a soda can lightly.  
"They don't care how their actions affect other people. They only care about themselves."  
He threw the stuff away in a trash can.  
"Please lighten up. This...this isn't like you."  
N smiled.  
"Sorry buddy."  
He petted the fox once more, smiling again. The fox did likewise.  
"That's more like it...besides, you're a human and you're the nicest thing I know. That's gotta count for something."  
N laughed, his usual demeanor restored.  
"I suppose so, yeah you're right."

N continued walking, looking around and seeing humans everywhere..humans with Pokemon.  
"I know it's a painful question, so you don't have to answer, but...what was your old owner like?"  
The Zoroark stopped dead in his tracks.  
"Look, if you don't want to discuss it, I understand-"  
"No, you have a right to know. I promised, remember? No secrets?"  
N nodded and the Zoroark sighed.  
"I...didn't actually have one. At least, not that I remember. But none had ever done anything other than try and catch me when I was young."  
N sighed.  
The Zoroark looked away.  
"You'd never...give me up or anything...would you?"  
N shook his head.  
"No! You're my only friend...we promised each other to always stay by the other's side! I would never, no, could never, do such a thing."

The Zoroark smiled once more.  
"Come on, let's get some grub."  
The duo found an apple tree and the fox plucked several apples.  
"Nothing quite like a breakfast of apples on the run, eh N?"  
He laughed, eating. After they were done, he sighed.  
"I haven't had a decent meal in Arceus knows how long...I needed that."  
N looked at the sky.  
"Looks like it'll rain soon. Good. All the hikers will be going home."  
N walked alongside the Zoroark, looking around.  
"Maybe we should find shelter in case there's lightning.  
The Zoroark nodded.  
"Good idea Ni-San."  
The duo found a suitable tree to sit under. N sat with his legs crossed, the fox laying with its head in his lap.  
As they predicted, soon it was raining. N leaned against the tree with the back of his head, closing his eyes. Slowly the sound of the rain lulled him to sleep.  
The Zoroark lay still, N's hand limp on his head.  
"Sleep well, Ni-San."  
It watched the rain, content.

N's finger twitched as he relived his last battle with Black yet again. Yet again he was disowned by Ghetsis, and once again he said goodbye.  
Feeling his tension, the fox curled up around him.  
A loud clap of thunder woke him up and he shook his head, watching the sky. He began to ponder over his life. The lightning was just like him, striking quickly and blindly at whatever stood high enough. Short and fleeting, it would dissapear as quickly as it fell, the light it gave off ceasing. "How could I have been...so blind..."  
His free hand tightened at the ground, his body shaking as tears fell from his face.  
"Ni-San..."  
"Why! Why does the world...have to...be like this..."  
"Stop being so hard on yourself. You couldn't have-"  
"You don't understand! I was just inches from...from..."  
He closed his eyes, shaking violently.  
"Why? Why do I exist...? What purpose was I supposed to serve!"  
N continued shaking as he silently sobbed.  
The Zoroark sat up and pressed against his side.  
"Why, Ni-San? Why are you being so hard on yourself?"  
N didn't respond.  
N stepped back and turned around, the rain pounding on them like it were made of stone, and producing a musty feel in the air.

"Who...who are you?"  
In front of him was a Zebstrika with a rider wearing a lab coat that was oddly dry.  
The man immediately responded, his voice chillingly void of emotion.  
"If I planned to tell you, I'd have introduced myself already."  
The man's cold gaze was rock solid, the hair hanging in front of his eye doing nothing to hinder it. He sent out a Galvantula and dismounted. The Zebstrika marched forward, both staring at N mercilessly. The Zoroark got in front of him, black energy pulsating from his hands.  
"I'll have you know, I'm a lot stronger than-"  
Both used thunder simultaneously. With a deafening craaack he was struck by lightning and fell down, unconcious.  
N watched in horror, now soaked. He was unable to make himself speak.  
The wind whipped about, his hair billowing. He stumbled backwards and fell, returning his Zoroark.  
"Wh-"

He was cut off by the Zebstrika using thunder wave. He fell down, his entire body numb.  
The scientist took the pokeball from him.  
"Ghetsis devoted eighteen years-on this?"  
His voice was as cold as before, but he had an amused expression.  
N struggled to get up, barely lifting his head.  
"Why wouleu-"  
He tried to express in pokespeak. His paralysis made it hard for him to control his tongue. The horse stepped on his chest, knocking him out.  
The man slung N over his shoulder.  
"How he can use pokespeak with a one-letter name I'll never know..."  
He mounted the horse-zebra thing and rode off, the storm slowly dieing down.  
"Using rain as cover...why didn't we think of this before?"  
He mused to himself, examining the pokeball that held N's Zoroark.  
"The two of you...will be perfect."


	2. A Vengeful Enigma

Wes ran to the ship's lobby. A person wearing armor jumped down in front of him.  
"Where do you think you're going?"  
He sent out a Magmar and an Electabuzz.  
"I don't have time for this!"  
Wes sent out a Flygon and a Donphan.  
Earthquake! Dragon Claw!"  
They complied, both humanoids being defeated immediately.  
"Eh what?"  
Wes slugged him and the owner was also knocked out. He returned Flygon and mounted Donphan, riding it towards the control room.  
Wes broke into the room, face-to-face with several more peons in armor.  
Wes dismounted and sent out a Blazekin.

The peons backed up.  
"Yellow eyes..."  
"Spiky blonde hair..."  
"Pointy ears..."  
"That's...Wes..."  
One shook his head.  
"We've got nowhere to run!"  
He sent out a Persian and a Magneton.  
"Blaze kick the magnet! Body slam the cat!"  
Wes's Pokemon complied and both opponents were knocked out.  
"I...I think we should..."  
"Abondon ship?"

Wes's challenger nodded, returning his beaten Pokemon. The peons threw pokeballs through the window, letting out an assortment of Pokemon such as Pidgeot, Flygon, Garydos, Salamance, and Magnezone, along with others. The peons jumped on their Pokemon and escaped through the air. Upon close inspection Wes found the captain of the ship.  
"Not good...he's been poisoned."  
Rui gasped.  
"Then who's going to..."  
"Noone if we can't find him some medical help!"  
Blazekin picked the man up and slung him over his shoulder.  
They all ran, Wes riding his Donphan.  
"Where's the infermiry!"  
Rui pointed.  
"That way!"  
Collin (Wes's Blazekin) found the infirmary and handed over the captain.  
"W-w-what just happened?"  
"I have no idea. But he's beat pretty bad, he needs immediate care."

A replacement captain had taken the wheel and they were aproaching the dock.  
Wes leaned against a wall, having returned Collin.  
"Those little roaches refuse to die!"  
His voice would imply he was merely aggravated. Rui knew better.  
"But why? Why not kill you first?"  
"They were afraid of me. I guess no one's willing to do it."  
Wes watched the aproaching shore.  
"I made it my purpose to destroy them..."  
He smiled subconsciously. "Good times, good times..."  
Togetic was watching some dolphins swim by.  
The ship docked and Wes walked off.  
"Mossdeep city, huh?"  
Rui pulled out two per-ordered contest tickets.  
"I guess we can't go now?"  
Wes shook his head.  
"Of course we're not going now. We have to find them!"

Wes and Rui found the Pokemon Center.  
"Let me get a diverse team..."  
He turned on the PC and opened the PS (Pokemon storage.)  
He inserted all his current Pokemon and contemplated.  
"Suicune...Stantler...Skamary...our last entry...lets go with...Meganium."  
He smiled somewhat. "Other than Suicune, none of these have had a fight in a while. I figure I should let them stretch out, have a good adrenaline rush every so often."  
Rui nodded.  
"And we can ride them!"  
"Yeah, actually. Heh."  
He placed the pokeballs on his belt (double entrende...) and walked out. "We should get a map..."  
They went into the local pokemart and got two maps, some binoculars, pokemon food, two flashlights, some healing items, and a sword.  
Rui looked at it, perturbed.  
"Why do they have a sword here?"  
Wes shrugged.  
"Nice to have one. Can't rely on pokemon all the time, right?"  
"But why not get a gun?"  
"Bullets cost money. Swords on the other hand, never run out of ammo."  
She shook her head slowly.  
"Whatever you say."  
When they went back outside, the temperature had dropped. It was nighttime, and a cool coastal breeze was flowing through. The smell of seasalt filled the air.  
"Ehh."Wes, being accustomed to the blazing hot air that Orre had, shivered. The cold would feel just a bit chilly to the normal person, but to him it felt almost painful.

"Hey! You're wearing a longcoat with long sleeves underneath! Have some sympathy!"  
Rui exclaimed jokingly.  
Wes shook his head.

"We have to focus on this. Right. Now."  
She sighed.  
_I keep forgetting how he is under pressure._  
At the edge of town, Wes sent out Skamory and got on its back.  
"Have it follow me."  
He handed her a pokeball with Stantler in it.  
She complied. (POV: Wes)  
I rode the creature's back, once more hearing the hummingbird noise it made with it's wings. Of I leaned to one side, those blade-like wings would have sliced me to ribbons. The air was even colder at night and in the sky. I struggled not to shiver, since that could throw it off course. I pointed to the storm in the distance.  
"There."  
The animal flew towards the clouds, the wind intensifying as we got closer. Soon it was struggling to stay in place. Realizing the danger this posed, I kept off and rolled. Standing, I returned it.  
"Rui! Can you hear me!"  
After a few minutes, she came on the deer thing's back.  
"You okay?"  
She asked, with a worried voice.  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
I sent out Suicune and mounted. "Towards the eye!"  
I yelled, Suicune and Stantler running. The wind stung my eyes, and soon our steeds had to bob and weave through fallen trees and billowing branches.  
The rain was falling hard, with heavy droplets.  
"It's time...to show them the Gates!"  
I cried to raise morale.  
...I'm relatively sure it failed,

(Third person)  
The two beasts eventually made it through and reached the mountain. They started ascending, the storm now lessening.  
Once they reached the top, an inspection revealed that below them was a large metal structure.  
"Holy-how do you suppose they did that?"  
Seth shrugged, returning both pokemon.  
He sent out Skamary, which spread its wings and cawed. Wes grabbed its throat at the last second and gave it a death glare. Understanding the message, it nodded.  
"Behind or below?"  
"What kind of question is that?"  
"Do you want to ride it or have it carry you in its talons?"  
She gulped.  
"Garunteed minor injury, or chance of, if I don't stay totally still, death? I'll take the feet."  
She got on all fours and Wes mounted it.  
"Hang on..."  
It hovered, grabbed her by the shoulders, and began its descent.  
It hovered in front of the entrance and let go of Rui. She landed on her chest with a pained grunt.

"Be more gentle next time..."  
She muttered, standing. Wes returned it and fell through the space it had occupied, landing next to her on his back.  
"Note to self: Find bird more suited to riding."  
He opened the door and he and Rui walked through. A man in armor jumped down in front of him.  
"You won't get any farther!"  
He sen out a Sableye and a Numel.  
"Okay...!"  
Wes responded, sending out Suicune and Umbreon.  
"Sucker punch! Surf!"  
Umbreon ran to the ghost, who was about to lash with its stubby claws, and punched it. As it fell over, he jumped on it and in the words of the PS announcer, "Rode that Surf!" to avoid the wave. Both foes ceased to be conscious. Wes returned his Suicune and the man retreated. Wes avanced further.  
"Okay, then..."  
He pulled out and donned the Snag Machine, a deadpan expression adourning his face. He sent out Espeon.  
"You two ready?"  
They both nodded.  
"Report if you see anything, and if it becomes necesary, then run."  
The four split up and went their ways.

(POV: Umbreon)  
I went into the left elevator with Rui and went down. As I left, I was vaguely aware of her wishing me luck. I went down several windy (wine-d, not win-d) halls and found nothing. The air was hot and stuffy, which didn't bother me. I was about to give up when I heard a faint whisper. I ran in its direction.  
(POV:Rui)  
After taking him down and wishing him luck, I watched Umbreon leave.  
"Now for me."  
I stated quietly while I watched him go. I fingered the ruby in my pocket: a Sending Stone. Each had a pair, and if you focus on one you can send your thoughts to the other's wearer, and any others closeby. Since Wes was psychically linked to Umbreon and Espeon, this allowed for all four of us to be in touch. I pressed the floor 2 button, watching the label shift from B1 to 1.

(POV: Espeon)  
After I went to floor B1 in the right elevator, I stated walking. I was certainly not entirely ready: I wasn't aware quite of all my surroundings, and I fell just short of walking silently. I focused and managed to get around, but the area was mainly cut off by doors. I didn't think to use my psychic power to open them. Somehow.  
(POV: Seth)  
I went to the right half of floor 2, and I ran into many enemies, all of whom I just knocked out before they could send out pokemon. I knew since all my thoughts were my own that I was the only one being attacked, but I still made sure to be ready to coordinate. I kept my fingers around the hilt of my sword, in case it became necessary.

N awakened. His hands were tied behind his back and to each other, and he was tied up. The man from before sat across from him.  
""So Ghetsis hired you?"  
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm capturing you...for my own purposes."  
"Where's my friend?"  
"Eh? What?"  
"The Zoroark. Where is he!"  
N was terrified now he realized what was really going down. His voice cracked with terror, he was tearing up.  
"Where is he!"  
"Such concern for something that isn't human."  
At that N attempted to leap at the man, but merely fell forward.  
N struggled to get up, crawling towards the wall.  
"Wh...what do you want with us?"  
"Have you ever heard of Cipher, boy?"  
"No. So enlighten me. Let me guess. You want my help summo-"  
"No, you incompotent twit. Legendaries...they aren't worth the effort. We have something that makes even normal, untrained pokemon far more effective than that pathetic lizard Ghetsis used you to obtain."  
The cluster of insults hit hard and N once more attempted to lunge himself at the man. The man, however, pressed his foot to N's head, pinning it to the ground.

He lifted his foot and set it back down, on the ground this time.

"The judgemental failures of your disfunctional little brain completely elude me."

N got up, leaning against the wall. He gave the man a look of intense hate.  
"Let him go."  
"You really think I'll do that because you asked nicely? Do I look like a charity to you?"  
N panted, staring at his captor.  
"Can I have your n-"  
"No. Why would I tell you that?"  
He looked down.  
"What do you want w-"  
"Why would I tell you that? It wouldn't serve me in any w-"  
"Just let us go! We've had e-"  
The man had sent out a Galvantula, which rested on N's shoulder.  
"Your pathetic whining ws getting on my nerves."  
N whispered in pokespeak.

"Please...you don't have to be his slave. You-"

"Trying to reason with a spider? Kid, you're pathetic."  
N gave the man a death-glare.  
"This 'spider' has feelings! It-"  
"His rambling is annoying me now. Restrain him."  
It bit down and used thunder wave. N collapsed, his eyes disturbingly wide.  
"We're almost there..."  
He crossed his arms.  
"Such a pitiful waste..."  
N shook, struggling to move.  
I'm sorry...I got you into this...forgive me...  
"You...you have GOT to be kidding me. He's crying."  
He smirked slightly.

_Only Ghetsis would put so much of his plan on the shoulders of something so pathetic...Oh I know! I'll have a CHILD do my dirty work! And a soft one at that! Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong._  
His smirk grew.  
_If that fool is perfection, then I'm apparently some sort of god._  
_am perfection! Quite possibly the most incorrect evaluation anyone has ever made. He spent eighteen years on his plan-and then he comes out relying on a child. I didn't realize it was possible for someone to be so stupid. It's like he didn't even realize he'd have to deal with N later. I sent those three in on a suicide mission, and yet..._  
He shook his head slightly.  
_Ah yes. Cipher's little trio of spies. Ghetsis fell for that like a suit of armor going through a trap door._  
He looked at N.  
_His entire life was preparation for that day-eighteen years of lies obliterated in under five minutes. If Ghetsis had a brain half the size of his ego he'd have stayed quiet and just attacked Black. Then this idiotic child would still be a faithful little slave of his. Perhaps. But now, he is going to have a use-if we can break him, we can break anyone._

The man, now that they were inside, removed N's blindfold.  
N welled up all his willpower and forced himself to speak.  
"Wh-why...-are-...-you-looking a...mehlikezat?"  
His burst ended before he was done.  
"I suppose I can explain-later. I'll have one of our more sadistic scientists fill you in.  
N mentally gulped.  
Who are these people? And "Whaduyuwanwimeh?"  
"You're a cheeky brat, hardly befitting the king of a criminally-oriented cult."  
N glared, trying to get past the glaze over his eyes.  
"Ah, Plasma. Their success would have made our job so much easier, really. You see, Plasma is your puppet. You're Ghetsis's puppet. Ghetsis is a puppet of the Shadow Triad. They're all my puppets. A magnificent gambit, really. But your father allowed his ego to destroy his plans. He could've stayed quiet. You'd still be under his influence, I may not have needed to dirty my hands like this."  
N was wide-eyed.

"_My lord_, I think he's in shock."  
N was placed in a cold cell. The man turned around and started leaving.  
"W-wait! Where is he!"  
No response. He kept going.  
"No! Please! Give him...back..."  
N was on his hands and knees.  
Tears rolled down his face, and he was shaking.  
"I'm...sorry...I couldn't help you..."  
He stopped.  
"Oh, the fox? If all goes according to plan, you'll be seeing him as you die."  
"Wh-"  
"And he'll be the reason you do die."  
"He'd never hurt me! And-"  
"You don't get it? You're an idiot. You treat Pokemon better than most people treat humans. But they're just tools. All they need is a little needle, and they show their true colors. The heart is a useless thing. The metaphorical heart, the literal one is surprisingly necessary."

"You...monster!"  
"Two hundred-and sixty four."  
"What do you want with me?"  
"Simple: we want to break you. If you can be, than anyone can."  
"What do you mean, 'break me'?"  
"Shadow Pokemon are Pokemon who have been stripped of their morality, individualism, and independence. They obey orders to the letter, and hold no value for the lives of themselves and those around them."

"And we beleive that, to a lesser extent, the same can be done to humans."

"Oh, I almost forgot. The catalyst."  
He walked off.  
N huddled in the corner sitting and hugging his knees to his chest.  
"Where are you? Where are...you...?"  
He slowly started sobbing.  
"Please! Give him back! Please! I'll do anything! Please just GIVE HIM BACK!"  
He screamed, breaking down. The cold, now wet stone floor felt oppressively lifeless under his fingers as he shook, for the first time in over fifteen years, truly alone.  
He hunkered down and shivered.  
"Let him go! He never did anything wrong! Let him go!"  
Another man in a lab coat, with a purple suit underneath, walked in.  
"You really think that's how the world works? Amusing."  
N gave him the most hateful stare he could muster-considering his drenched face, and that the paralysis hadn't completely worn off from the second time, it was more self-pity than anything.

"I fail to see why Ghetsis raised you the way he did. The moment you discovered his true colors you would have betrayed him, yes? Surely his underdeveloped Hydreigon, which happens to be of my creation, would at least have provoked some response. You were raised to be a lapdog, but not as one."  
"What?""Considering your connection to Pokemon, I'll be making animal metaphors when dealing with you. And watch your tongue. Us scientists do not take well to being cut off by the superstitious, the less informed, and especially children."

"I'm not a child I'm eighte-"  
"You have the demeanor of a spoiled twelve-year old. Therefore, you are a child. Interrupt me again, boy, and I might have that fox of yours killed. His pelt could probably be sold for a sufficient sum..."  
N's face had degenerated to a look of outright horror. He pushed himself against the wall, hugging his knees tighter.  
"Love. Fear. Anger. All are just pointless delusions used by the brain to sort out how to react to a given stimuli. Often this causes flaws in judgement-which is where Pokemon come in. There is a way to silence those delusions, to create the ultimate weapon. It does what it's told not out of loyalty, but for the simple reason that its owner ordered it to do so."  
N glared once more, outraged.  
"You're insane! What about the Pokemon you hurt by doing th-"  
"Is it really so evil? Would it be worse than ordering them to lay their lives on the line when they do give a damn about self-preservation?"  
N kept glaring.  
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, nor do I care what you think. But you're a valuable negotiation tool-your father and I don't agree on a certain matter, and I beleive I can use you to at least lure him out-I can't trust just three mooks to kill him after all."

N glared.  
"What...are you going to do to him?"  
The man pulled out a pokeball and sent out a Manectric.  
"Torture him. I don't care how, just make it excruciating."  
He left.  
The dog-like creature stared him down.  
"Please...you don't have to do this-"  
"Think I'll buy into that 'saving me' crap? You're just a Puppet."  
"No! I am not just some puppet!"  
"I simply cannot see why Zekrom would ever choose you of all people as its master."  
"Master? Is that what you think? No one is anyone's master. -"  
"You're a naive, pitiful fool. You think the world is simple, but it's not."  
"See? He's got you thinking-"  
The beast jumped in between the bars and sank its fangs into his legs.  
He yelped in agony.  
"No! Please, just-"  
It then used Thunder Fang, making him scream. Tears were rolling down his face.  
"...Why? Why can't you just let me-"  
"Because you're the enemy. You're just another of Ghetsis's blind, mentally incoherent puppets and you're only one letter from being another nameless mook."  
It continued to attack him brutally for hours. Soon his arms and legs were covered with all kinds of injuries.

"I...don't want to be your...enemy..."  
"Even after all that? I guess I was wrong."  
"Really?"  
N reached out to pet it, and it smiled. "I guess you really are as clueless as he said."  
The attacks began anew.  
N was sobbing, and he had cuts and puncture wounds all over him.  
"If I go any farther, he'll bleed to death. Hmph."  
The dog left. N was shaking violently, the ground of the cell wet and cold.  
Please! He didn't do anything to deserve this!  
He noticed warmth coming from the ground. He looked down and noticed that the water was a red tint.  
His vision faded in and out. The world seemed to spin around him.  
"Let...us...go..."

He felt weak from the blood loss, and collapsed. The dog's attack played out in his head once more.  
(POV:N)  
I woke up covered in a warm red liquid that was dark and thick. My head really hurt, my eyes felt dry and stung, and I could barely move. But most of all: I was alone. I hadn't even been by myself since the day I got my first Pokemon. For most people, that's ten. I was three. I wanted to be free, to find him, I wanted him to be okay. But I was trapped. Not that it's a new thing for me. It was the loneliness and his predicament that got to me. The dog had referred to the scientist as his "master." It reminded me of my original goals-but that same dog was fine with its own confinement. Reflecting that left me confused as well.  
"Please..."  
I struggled to talk. My mouth was dry and my stomache went into great pain when I breathed.  
"I just...want him...back."

(POV: Espeon)  
Eventually I found myself in some sort of dungeon. I looked around, and saw the most pitiful-looking kid I've ever laid my eyes on.  
"Just how low can they stoop?"  
I muttered, approaching him. His eyes looked at me hopefully.  
"Please...help."  
He muttered in an extremely raspy voice.  
He doesn't even suspect me...  
I squeezed in between the bars and froze.  
"Wait...was that pokespeak?"  
He slowly nodded.  
"How-?"  
He seemed to try and reach for me but couldn't.  
"Morning Sun."  
I muttered. A beam of light appeared from nowhere and set upon him. His wounds closed and his clothes were somehow repaired. He filled with energy and sat up.  
"Thank you for helping me."

(POV:N)  
I lay in immense pain for several minutes. I couldn't cry for some reason. Eventually I heard pokespeak and when I looked up there was an Espeon.  
"Please...help."  
I muttered in pokespeak. It apparently understood because it walked through the bars and healed me. I sat up, glad to have a friend. I sat with my legs crossed, examining myself.  
It sat in my legs and pressed against my chest, purring. I started petting it, happy.  
"Adorable..."  
I muttered. I almost forgot my predicament. I opened my mouth to ask its name, but it cut me off.  
"First, you can call me a she."  
She can read minds?  
I thought. I started to apologize, and-  
"Why did they put you here?"  
I frowned.  
"I don't know.

(POV: Espeon) After I healed him, he sat up. His clothes, which had been tattered, were suddenly repaired.

I walked over, looking around to see how bad the permanent damage was. I was breathing heavily, and he must have thought I was purring because he started petting me. When I read his mind, he was internally referring to me as it, so I clarified.  
"You can call me a she."  
He was probably about to apologize, but I was interested.  
What does Cipher want with this child? Maybe he can sense Shadows' aura like Rui?  
""Why did they put you here?"  
I asked. He promptly frowned.

(POV: Wes)  
After some looking around, I felt a message from Espeon.  
I just found a prisoner. He's just a boy. I'll meet you at the entrance.  
I relayed the message to the others and turned around. I met Rui and Umbreon at the point.  
(POV: Espeon)  
After sending the message to Wes, I smiled. "I'm getting you out of here."  
I destroyed the door's lock with Psycic, and pushed it open. He stood.  
"Thanks for helping me."

(POV: N)  
She opened the door for me and started walking away. I followed.  
She led me to an elevator.  
"That button."  
I pressed the up button and the door opened. We walked in and I pressed the 1 button. When the doors opened again, I thanked her and looked up. In front of me was a girl about my age and a man several years older. Something told me I wasn't going to like him.  
(POV: Espeon)  
The moment N and Wes laid eyes on each other, I knew it would be a rocky road. Wes doesn't open himself to many people and I knew N wouldn't be one of them. Also, N's mind was far less mature than his age (he's 18, but he acts like he's 12) and I knew Wes wouldn't be able to stand that. Seth's treatment of us...can seem harsh at times, and I got the vibe N would try to "help" us.  
"Who's he?"  
He asked in pokespeak.

(POV: Wes)  
As soon as that door opened, I knew we'd have problems. The first thing I heard him say?  
"Eneneenye."  
_What?_  
I gave Espeon a WTH? Look and she hung her head. She answered, presumably, and the kid's eyes widened.  
"So, you're her...trainer."  
You have got to be kidding.  
"Who else would I be?"  
"Er, nice to-"  
As he spoke he had walked a little too close to me.  
"Touch me and I'll break you."  
He gulped and backed off. The other elevator opened and my least favorite scientist walked out.  
"I never did manage to make you atone, Wes."  
Came Ein's chilling voice. I grabbed my sword hilt.

(POV: Rui)  
After the elevator opened, the kid walked out. He was young looking, and he had a much less worn face face than Wes. I could tell from his aura that he was a nice kid. The fact he was saying "en" over and over, then phonetically saying enye, though, threw me for a loop. After a quick introduction, he walked towards Wes. I grimaced.  
Please don't kill hm.  
"Touch me and I'll break you."  
I was internally relieved. I had expected Wes to punch a hole in his stomach or something.  
Hi. My name's Rui. What's yours?  
I opened my mouth when the nearby elevator opened and Ein came out.  
"I never did make you atone, Wes."  
The kid hid behind me. I tried to look tough, but I knew it wouldn't work.

(POV: Umbreon)  
A quick trip into the green-haired fellow's mind revealed two things:  
His name is "N"  
And he's the most naive person I've ever met. He seemed confused.  
You should hope Rui likes you, kid. Because unless she objects, Wes's going to kill you in some way or another.  
When the other elevator opened, I saw the most horrible person I've ever met.  
That description has much more weight than N's. I've met armies of heartless, pitiful people, and not much on the other end. Another thing is how simply N's thoughts were arranged: he seemed not to do much of thinking for himself. In stark contrast is Ein, who, if I couldn't read his mind, I'd swear tested the Shadow Process on himself. He was the most calculating son of man on the planet, held practically no value for life human or otherwise, and thinks like a chess player. Always ahead.

(Third person)

After a long run/flight, they stopped. They were north of Mauvile, where they decided to rest. They took N to a hospital.  
"What happened to him?"  
"We don't know."  
Wes lied. He sat down with Rui in the waiting room.  
"What should we do with him?"  
"We'll leave him. He can find his wa-"  
She punched him in the face.  
"What?"  
"We should at least get him home."  
"We can't afford to-"  
"But thou must!"  
"I hate it when you do that."  
Wes muttered.

(POV: N)  
While I was down and out, I relived my childhood. I'm not sure of that's the best way to say it.  
...here goes nothing.  
In the dream I was three again, in my room. It was a prison really, a...big, colorful prison full of toys. I sound insane don't I. Anyway, I was rea-no I couldn't read. I was looking at the pictures in a book. There were these strange creatures that didn't look at all like me. That book was the closest thing I had to any permanent companion. There was the guy who brought my food, but even he was actually seven people-even now the only way I can tell them apart is their voice. Anyway, in came my food-and all seemed normal. I ate the...I couldn't remember if it was a mash or berries. In the dream it was berries. Later, though, I looked up and saw that the door was opening again. This wasn't like normal, because it hadn't been a full day. In walked someone...else. He was wearing a tighter-fitting outfit, and it was much darker than the other persons'. He held a quivering black ball in his his hand. He said something I couldn't understand-and then dropped it. It unfurled, taking the shape of a Zoura, and raced to my bed, hiding under it. In all honesty, I was just as afraid of it as it was of me. I had only ever seen humans, and its suddenly running past me, coupled with the mysterious man I didn't know, were distressing to say the least.  
I say against the corner. Apparently realizing I was scared, it slowly walked over and rubbed my hand with its snout. I reached out and petted it That moment...shaped who I was. Then it was a blur. Next thing I know I was thirteen. I was riding the halfpipe in my room, a Zoura on my shoulder smiling and going "Wheee!"

(yes my room has a halfpipe in it.)  
I smiled, jumping off the board onto the high right end. I sat with my legs dangling over the edge. He jumped down onto my lap. I started petting him, smiling.  
"I'm going to free them. I have to. We can't just let those nasty humans keep doing this right?"  
"No." He vigorously shook his head.  
I kept petting him.  
"That's why...I'm going to accept."  
"We should have them play I just Can't Wait to be King during the coronation!"

(POV: N)  
I laughed.  
"Nah. Not serious enough. But you're okay with this?"  
He pressed up against my chest.  
"Whatever will set them free."  
I nodded.  
This next part is...odd. The dream ended, but neither my sleep nor my thinking went with it.  
Those three...  
I saw them in my head. The way I saw things back then was simple: black and white.  
I blame Ghetsis and his obsessive psychological rants. Anyway, the scientist was definately evil-but so was Ghetsis, and he made it clear they were enemies. But they were on the same side, right? Surely both were evil, and-my thoughts were an infinite loop which followed that pattern. Little did I know, once I woke up, my philosophy would be completely and utterly shattered.  
My thoughts went to him.  
"He's okay...he has to be, right? Right?"  
I said to myself.  
I was suddenly aware of a sharp pain in my side.

(Third person)  
N was in a bed, bandages covering his right side and shoulder and an I'VE was in him. He reached with his free arm to touch it out of curiosity.  
"Don't. Touch an IV or moving what it's attached to while it's inside? Very painful."  
N shivered, which triggered a sharp pang all throughout his side.  
"G-tcha!"  
He gasped, recoiling from the pain. "I told you so. Now lie down. You'll need it."  
He started to stand but the pain got worse so he laid back down.  
"Where-Gh! Am I?"  
"Mauville. Now relax. You could be here for a while."  
A nearbye door opened. Wes walked through.  
"Leave me with him."  
The nurse paused, nodded, and left.  
"Who are you?"  
N froze.  
"I-I-I'm-"  
"Fine. What's your name?"  
"...I-It's N..."  
"Your name is N?"  
N nodded.  
"Wait...you haven't heard of me?"  
"I don't know, you look so forgettable."  
"What...?"  
"Of course I haven't heard of you!"  
Wes was glaring angrily. N shrank away and winced.  
"Where do you live?"

N was unable to answer. Wes, frustrated, stormed out.


	3. A Rocky Beginning

(POV: Rui)  
I waited, and to noone's surprise, Wes stormed out angrily. I sighed.  
He never was good with younger people. I walked in. I stood next to him.  
"He busted your rib pretty good."  
He smiled weakly.  
"I've never seen a scientist with that much strength."  
I reached out and gently moved a strand of hair from in front of his face. To this day, I still don't know why. It, surprisingly, didn't bother him. He sighed.  
"I assume you've met my aquaintance Wes."  
He nodded, his smile gone.  
"He...scares me."  
I laughed a bit.  
"Yeah...he can be intimidating if you don't know him."  
"That scientist...he said they have a way...to turn Pokemon into heartless beasts...he was bluffing, right? Right?"  
I shook my head. His eyes widened.  
"No...no!"  
He grabbed his ears and curled up.  
"No! They have him...it can't be true...it can't be..."  
I put my hand on his shoulder. He continued to flip out, but he slowly started eying me.  
"It's okay. We can heal him."

He stopped and looked at me, hands still over his ears. He looked kind of odd in that pose. His back was up and his legs bent upwards. He watched me for a moment as his eyes focused again.  
I smiled weakly. It was now apparent that he had something-probably minor autism or something. I mentally shrugged it off. I could tell he was a lot younger mentally than physically, what with that breakdown and his hiding behind me. That's when I noticed the IV.  
"I'll be back."  
I found a nurse.  
"What is the IV for?"  
I asked, careful not to sound angry or annoyed.  
"There are some inconsistencies in his nervous system. Probably from electrically-induced paralysis."  
"Oh. Thanks! And, er, how long does he need here to recuperate?"  
She thought for a moment.  
"A few hours, probably."  
I smiled. "Thank you!"  
I think he fell asleep when I was gone. Either that or a sedative was put in him.  
I finally got a good look at him. He was wearing really casual clothes, with some kind of necklace-thing. And he had a monochrome rubix cube. "That looks pointless."  
Then I noticed his hair. It had to be at least twice the length of mine, and it was GREEN. Seriously. His hair is GREEN.

(third person)  
Rui watched N.  
"We'll be back..."  
She muttered, turning around.  
She walked out to the waiting room, sitting next to the exasperated Wes.  
"Okay, so what did you find out?"  
"Apparently Cipher has one of his pokemon, probably one he's strongly bonded with. They told him about Shadows-he assumed they-"  
Wes clamped his hand over her mouth.  
"Let's continue this outside."  
He said in an obviously sarcastic way. Once they'd both walked outside, she leaned against a wall while he paced.  
"-that they were lying. When I confirmed they weren't he-"  
She paused, trying to think of a way to explain it.  
"He went into an upright fetal position with his hands on his ears. He's probably a high-functioning autistic or something."  
Wes sighed.  
"Great. He's mentally incoherent and Cipher has a friend of his. Now I have more dead weight I have to deal with."  
She punched his arm.  
"What did I say?"

"He's a nice person."  
"You know what happens when nice people get tangled with Cipher? They die."  
"I thought you didn't care."  
"Well you obviously do. And dealing with you when your angry is far worse than being on the brink of death."  
She rolled her eyes.  
"Anyway, I could use some food to calm my nerves."  
Wes nodded.  
"There's a local KFP."  
"Great."  
Wes and Rui walked to the KFP and ate an unknown amount of food. The bill was huge, but Wes had far more than enough money.

The Shadow Triad were standing outside a cave.  
"...This is it."  
Spouted the first abruptly. The second nodded.  
The third shook his head.  
"Anyway, now we report back to Ghetsis. We got two perfectly good fair maidens."  
He chuckled.  
"I knew those two would be of more use than making sure N didn't come out a blood knight."  
The other two smirked and followed as he turned around.  
"Those two...they'll fulfill their roles soon. As for the boy..."  
He smiled evilly.  
"He won't last long should he oppose."  
They walked over to their transport: An Alakazam. It teleported them into a room where Ghetsis and Achroma (His English name is Corless, they both mean 'without color', I just like the sound of Achroma better).  
"I assume you found the chasm?"  
They nodded.  
Achroma bowed.  
"Honored to meet you...er..."  
"Just call us by our groups' title, the Shadow Triad."  
"Very well then. I just finished explaining the works of my device to Ghetsis here...it controls pokemon."  
"Interesting."

The Shadow Triad stood for a moment. Their current codenames were Heero (The speaker), Duo (The middle ground), and Trowa (the mostly silent one).  
"We've located Kyurem, sir. Should we...?"  
Ghetsis shook his head.  
"Not quite yet. There are several problems we must attend to first."  
"Yes sir. Our next assignment?"  
"Find the boy...if possible, steal that dragon of his."  
All three nodded.  
"Dismissed."  
They turned and exited.  
"And Achroma?"  
"Yes, mi'lord?"  
"Check Mt. Pyre. That 'hurricane' is suspicious."  
"Yes sir!"  
Achroma bowed and exited as well.  
"Soon...I'll be on top of the world!"  
Cried Ghetsis to himself. He lifted himself onto his feet with his canesword (Cane that has a sword hidded inside) and walked to a window, watching the scenery.

Achroma mounted a Skamary, flying off towards Hoen.  
_That is no hurricane. Hurricanes do not stay in place like that, at least not normally, and its been over land for hours without losing size in the slightest._  
Several hours passed before he arrived. He found the building and entered. After scouring the corridors of the upper right section, he found a hidden switch. He flipped it, revealing a large open room. Ein was on the other side of the room, eying him.  
"Who are you?"  
Asked Achroma suddenly, watching Ein. His Skamary was at his side.  
"Considering you're the one in my lab, I ought to be asking that question."  
Ein stood, hand open in front of his face.  
"That uniform...you're a part of Plasma, are you not?"  
"Neo Plasma, to be specific. I must ask, where did you get the funds for-"  
"Why are you here?"  
Achroma smirked.  
"I see. Not one for pleasantries, are you? I must say, that 'hurricane' you made isn't fooling anyone. At least, anyone impor-"  
He was cut off by the sound of a handgun being clicked.  
"Go back, and tell Ghetsis that those who interfere with our plans do not leave alive."  
Achroma backed up, and disappeared in a flash of light. Suddenly, he was in Mauville.  
"What the-who're you?"  
Wes ran over, disturbed by his sudden appearance.

Achroma backed up.  
That little! He must have had an Abra next to the door! But...must have been evolved...but it hid so well-  
"Answer the question"  
He backed up.  
"Oh. I am-"  
He looks dangerous. Perhaps I should hold my identity from him for now.  
"You are?"  
Impatient kid!  
"I am a scientist. I was out collecting samples and I guess I startled an Abra or-"  
Wes smirked.  
"You're obviously a scientist, and even I know Abra can only teleport themselves and what's around them-both, or just them self."  
"Then I suppose it was a Kadabra-"  
"You're awfully unaware for a scientist. That's a big difference."  
"Wes!"  
"What?"  
"Stop being rude!"  
"Rude! Just look at him?"  
"He's wearing a lab coat. What about it?"  
"What scientist would ever have that kind of hair?"  
"His hair doesn't say anything about him."  
Wes face plamed.  
Achroma eyed them.  
I feel like I've seen her before...

Wes grumbled.  
"Fine! Even though he's obviously evil, if I attack him you'll just say 'but thou musn't!' So I won't bother."  
Achroma walked away.  
It doesn't seem they're onto me...okay then, I'll just...wait.  
He saw N out the window.  
He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to Heero stating N's position. Smirking, he left town.  
_If things continue to go the way they've been going, soon us Plasma- or Neo Plasma- will be on top of the world!_

Achroma left, Wes watching him.  
"Something doesn't feel right..."  
Rui blinked.  
"What do you mean?"  
"...I need to talk to that kid."  
Wes walked into the hospital and found N.  
"Who exactly are you?"  
N blinked, not realizing what he meant.  
"I told you, my name is-"  
Wes pounded the wall.  
"I didn't ask your name, I asked who you are!"  
"What do you mean, I already-"  
"You aren't a normal person, that's obvious. You a part of any group?"  
His eyes widened.  
"Not anymore...I used to be."  
"Then that's probably why Cipher captured you!"  
Wes threw his hands out, exasperated. His hands were clenched and his knuckles were white.  
"But I'm not Plasma's leader anymore!"  
"...you...are the leader...of a group...that Cipher thinks is a threat. I smell maniplation."  
N was teary eyed.  
"Oh I get it. You're a symbol!"  
Wes facepalmed, a massive grin on his face.  
"I THOUGHT it was odd that Cipher would target someone so weak!"

N faced the window.  
"I'm not weak. I've gone against the champion of my region's pokemon league...and the elite four...and I defeated them all in one go."  
"...Wait...what? Pokemon...league?"  
N nodded.  
"They're the best of the best."  
"...Pokemon battles, right?"  
N nodded. Wes was suddenly dead serious.  
"Pokemon battles...are a sport here? Where I'm from..."  
N faced him, confused.  
"Where I'm from, its how we kill each other."  
N was shocked.  
"You make pokemon...kill people?"  
"Where I'm from, we don't fight to see who's stronger. We fight to take the other person's life."  
N was looking at the floor. "...Go away..."  
Wes complied and exited the building. N's fist were tight.  
"...They have him. He trusted me...and I allowed this to happen..."

N slowly relaxed his hand.  
"...They said they could heal them...but it won't come to that. I won't let it."  
The nurse returned.  
"Sorry, but for this next bit you have to be put under."  
"Wha-"  
She injected some sedatives into him and he passed out.

Wes gestured for Rui to follow and led her to a PC in the pokemon center.  
"That kid's apparently the 'leader' of a group called Plasma. I'm going to look it up and see what I can find."  
Access Internet . . . complete open search subject: Team Plasma A group of pokemon sympathetic trainers who see pokemon trainers as people who enslave pokemon and force them to do the person's bidding. Their goal was to use Zekrom to frighten the people into obedience and have them release their pokemon.  
Okay, no. Am I the only person who immediately thinks of foul play here?"

"Murder?"  
"Foul play doesn't always refer to murder, Rui. I mean manipulation."  
"Huh?"  
Wes facepalmed.

"Look. They set up as wanting to free pokemon, right? But they use pokemon to do it. Topping that off is the fact their leader is a child."  
"So?"  
"Children are blind to what they cause. As a result, they believe whatever they're told. As a result...?"

"..."  
Wes face palmed again.  
"He was probably raised to be blind to what he was doing. 'Liberating' pokemon? By force? Someone is using that child to obtain power. Or was, since he made it clear he isn't in that position anymore. If they forced the people to release their pokemon, who says they would have to as well?"  
Rui gasped.  
Wes sighed.  
"I don't know why I bother using up so much time to explain these things..."

Wes closed a few menus and then turned off the computer.  
"...If that's correct, he doesn't have a home. We should just leave him."  
"What? We can't just leave him here! You said it yourself, he'll be killed!"  
"If we take him with us, he'll get us killed!"  
Rui gave him an angry glare.  
"So you're saying we should leave him, a nice guy who hasn't done anything wrong, to die?"  
"I'm not sure his body count is at zero. Besides, we can't afford the risk of dead weight like him!"  
She crossed her arms.  
"He's coming or I'm staying."  
"...Damn it."  
"So you're giving in?"  
Wes nodded.  
"I can't believe I'm doing this..."  
They walked into the hotel, where N's operation had ended. N was sitting in the waiting room, looking at the floor. Wes approached him and looked at his face. N looked into his eyes for a second and then looked down.  
_I guess he's afraid of me..._  
Thought Wes as he watched N.  
I guess you aren't totally hopeless after all.  
Wes abruptly asked N,  
"do you want to help your friend or not?"  
N blinked, confused. After a few seconds he nodded.  
"Then you're coming with us."  
N sighed and slowly stood.

"Cat got your tongue or do you just not have anything to say?"  
N looked up.  
"Why would anyone do that? Typical, worthless humans..."  
Wes gave him a blank stare.  
"...where are you from?"  
"Unova."  
Wes's eyes widened and he broke into a hysteric fit of laughter.  
"You-kid, you haven't seen...anything-AHAHAHA!"  
He was having a hard time getting his laughter to stop.  
Rui blinked.  
Wes slowly regained control of himself.  
"If you were from, where I was from, you would be dead."

N rolled his eyes and followed silently.  
Wes checked into a hotel.  
"...We stay here for the night, in the morning..."  
He shook his head.  
"We'll see then."  
They walked into a three bed room.  
Wes set the snag machine and his sword next to one. He silently laid down on his back, staring at the ceiling and acting asleep. Rui got under the covers of a second and instantly fell asleep.  
N sat on the third, looking at the ground. Eventually he sighed and laid down.  
After a few minutes, he fell asleep, and started having nightmares.

(POV: N) (And before you ask: No. Not that kind. Egh.)  
That night was the first. I'd have these these dreams that...I can't explain. In this one I was standing in front of the two dragons. Unlike before, both of them had creepy emotionless faces. I felt a warmth in my hand for a second and the Black Dragon Zekrom, the one I had used, walked over to me and turned, facing the White Dragon Reshiram, its counterpart. Suddenly Reshiram screamed. They both tended to do that to their chosen heroes before befriending them, but this was different. It was...angry. Even before when I was fighting its chosen, it didn't seem angry. Zekrom didn't do anything as it swatted me with a vicious swipe. The ground disappeared and I fell into a void. A sudden extreme pain filled me and I awoke with a muffled scream.  
"R...Reshiram...why..."  
I muttered as I curled up. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I slowly relaxed and hung my feet over the bed's edge.  
(third person)  
N faced Rui, who after a few seconds lifted her hand.  
"Sorry you had to get involved in this..."  
She muttered, turning and walking a short distance. N sighed and stood.  
"I had a terrible dream..."  
Rui faced him.  
"You looked...distressed...while you were asleep."  
"I had a dream...one of my friends, Reshiram...he attacked me, viciously."  
"What the heckinda name is Reshiram?"  
"It's a pokemon..."  
"Oh, sorry..."  
She nodded as she apologized and then paused again.  
"You're...something else. When you first showed up...that 'blather' was pokespeak, wasn't it?"  
N nodded.  
"Heh. You know, I think you're just about the opposite of Wes."  
"How so?"  
"You're so concerned about your friends, you can't fight at all...you learn pokespeak, he teaches english."  
N tilted his head.  
"He...taught his Pokemon English?"  
She nodded.  
Something suddenly caught his eye.  
"Those are pokeballs on your belt?"  
He asked, pointing.  
She nodded, backing away slightly. N, not sure why, backed away as well.  
"Oh, soo you're a trainer..."  
"True, but mine consist of a young, hyper Togetic and an old, out-oh-his-prime Pikachu. Wes's..."  
She looked out the window.  
"His are trained extensively. It got to the point where they stopped getting stronger from regular battles, so he has them fight each other. They've gotten a few scrapes from it..."  
"He makes them fight each other? But that's...!"  
She smiled.  
"So concerned about them when you don't know any of them?"  
She laughed. He blinked, not sure whether to be angry or confused.  
"Of course! I'm a friend of all pokemon! And...what's...so funny?"  
"It's just, after getting so used to Orre...your personality is so different. Besides, its nice to have some company other than Wes."

N nodded.  
"This Wes...how did you meet him?"  
"...Cipher tried to kidnap me, and he rescued me. Those 'heartless pokemon' Ein mentioned are called Shadows. And they have this taint in their aura...I can see it, but most people can't, and that made me a threat. So they tried to kidnap me...and..."  
She looked at the ground.  
"He's the only reason I'm alive."  
N looked shocked.  
"...What...do you mean?"  
"...They would have killed me."

(POV: N)  
I looked at the ground. How was I supposed to respond? Wes had left a distinctly negative impression, and if they were so close, that meant she should be a bad person as well. But...she wasn't. So I...idn't know wat to say, and...so I said nothing.  
(third person)  
N slowly looked up.  
"...I'm confused."  
She blinked.  
"Why?"  
"You're so nice and...he's...not. But then, the two of you are so close and...to me, it doesn't make sense."  
Rui smiled.  
"He's...not very nice at first. But he opens up, and he's devoted to pokemon as well. Besides, he was just a grunt. You were a leader."  
N scratched the back of his head.  
"So, you know about that..."

She nodded. N looked around and saw the Snag Machine.  
"What is that anyway?"  
"The Snag Machine. It modifies pokeballs so that they work on trainers' pokemon. He used it to steal their Shadow Pokemon and purify them."  
N nodded.  
"If I'd had one of those..."  
He shivered at the thought, Rui nodding.  
"They were using those to kidnap people's pokemon straight from their trainers. Then they'd give them to Cipher, who turned them into Shadows."  
"...that's horrible..."  
"The pokemon you mentioned in your dream...what was its relation to you?"  
"My reggion, Unova, has a pair of legendary dragons that used to be one. The black dragon Zekrom and the white dragon Reshiram. The first requiring you to have a pure heart and strong ideals to befriend, the second only showing itself to or befriending one with a clear grasp of the truth and a pure heart. I had Zekrom, and Ghetsis was going to have me use it to scare the people into obedience so could have them free their pokemon. I was stopped by Black."

"...And people say Orrean names are nonsensical."  
"He...he caught on to what Ghetsis was doing and stopped him. He defeated me several times, but he was always nice to me, and his pokemon were such good friends with him...and...I was raised to believe all trainers were abusive, but he...he proved me wrong. His pokemon were his friends, he listened to my ambitions and never objected or attacked my viewpoint, and he...managed to befriend Reshiram. All that time, after all my defeats...Ghetsis revealed his true colors. I was just a pawn to him, a tool to be used to become more powerful...and until then I had believed he was telling the truth. But even after that, Black still accepted me. And then I set off for Hoen."  
Rui was speechless.  
"As I grew up, I never left my room. EVER. The closest thing I had to a family were my pokemon friends. Only one didn't have an abusive owner, and he was introduced to me at such a young age that neither of us spoke at all yet."  
Rui continued to give him a pitying look.  
"...The things those humans did to those poor pokemon...I'll never forgive them. The only human company I had were my two sisters...I firmly believed the three of us to be an exception. Now that I look back, they were tools of his as well, just like I was, to make sure I stayed pure of heart with something he had more complete control over. They were only meant to keep me from hating humans and stop at thinking they didn't belong together with pokemon."  
He sat down, tears welling up in his eyes.  
"I was like a brother to him...I failed to protect him, and now he's in the hands of those horrible people!"  
He shook, tears flowing down his face.  
"I...just want him back...he didn't do anything...it's my fault, isn't it..."  
Rui stood, unsure what to say to calm him down.

N slowly stopped.  
"No. I have to help him. This won't help him."  
He stood.  
(POV: N)  
I stood up, blinking the tears out of my eyes.  
I had to help stop them! All those poor pokemon they'd already turned into Shadows...I couldn't just sit down and let it continue! Or at least, that's what I thought. I didn't have any pokemon, and I knew that getting any to be my ally would pit them against Cipher...from what I'd seen, they wouldn't stand a chance. It pained me to do so on multiple levels, but I had no choice. Rui waved her hand in front of my face.  
"N? You okay?"  
I blinked a bit and then nodded.  
"I have something...I want to ask Ws."  
She shrugged.  
"OOkay. Just follow me."  
She turned and then lead me north, to the start of a small desert.  
"He always has his pokemon train in sandstorms."  
What? Unless he had catered to sandstorms for his fighting style, that would be hurting them for no reason! The more I learned about Wes's methods, the more I doubted his relation to his pokemon. I walked forward and, looking around, I eventually found him. He was watching a Blazekin fight a Suicune, a whip in his hand. That was it.  
"What the-a whip!"  
I ran and punched him across the face. He stepped back, his posture making it clear that he wasn't hurt in the slightest.  
"Why are you whipping him?"  
The Blazekin interjected, stating "I'm a girl."  
"Why are you whipping her?"  
"...I'm not."  
"Then why do you have a whip out?"  
"Signals other than my voice. Other person doesn't know what you're doing, makes you look more intimidating,...and the surprise value is worth its weight in gold."  
I seethed. I hated whips, and the ides of using them instead of your voice was-well, preposterous to me.  
The Blazekin shrugged.  
"He's telling the truth, and you really don't want to be on his bad side."  
I was thrown for a loop. Pokemon using english-I don't care if Rui had told me, it was surprising. That and I hadn't really taken the warning seriously.  
"You can use pokespeak with me."  
She gave me a O_o look.  
"Did he just-"  
Wes nodded.  
"Look, just use english and save your time. They only use pokespeak if english is unavailable."  
I looked down and to the side. "I...want to help with defeating Cipher, but I don't have any pokemon so-"  
"So train one yourself. You made it obvious just now that you don't agree with my methods."  
"I wanted...to borrow...some of yours."  
I was looking at the ground. Something about his eyes...I didn't feel right looking into them.  
(POV: Wes)  
"I wanted...to borrow...some of yours."  
Okay, now that brat was asking for it. He wanted to just..."borrow" them, and yet he's the one who's supposed to be preaching that they aren't tools. Riiight. And the way he was looking at the ground when he asked, he looked like a child. No really. If he were ten years younger I would actually be bothered by him less because his demeanor would be justified. Just...ugh. Of all the homeless people Cipher could have captured, it had to be him.  
"...no."  
"But I need a pokemon or I'll be dead weight!"  
"You're dead weight anyway."

(POV: Rui)  
I stood next to the pair, watching awkwardly. I felt stupid for a moment, realizing how obvious the question was in retrospect.  
"...How about Minun?"  
Wes gave me a quizzical look.  
"Fine. But if you try fighting with it, kid, you'll just get your ass kicked."  
He sighed.  
"Oh well. Better than nothing."  
"You go get it, I'm not done here.  
Wes retorted, gesturing towards me with his whip.  
I turned around and gestured for him to follow, which he did.  
"...Do all of them speak english?"  
I shook my head.  
"No, actually. Only Umbreon, Espeon, Blazekin, Suicune, Entei, Raikou, and Metagross."  
"Wait what? He has...all three of them?"  
I nodded.  
He was wide-eyed and silent.

(third person)  
The two walked over to a pokemon center. Rui typed into a computer and clicked on a few icons. In a flash a pokeball appeared on a tray next to the screen. She picked it up and handed it to him.  
"Wes only had me do this to shut you up."  
He nodded.  
"That was ridiculous, right? Expecting him to..."  
She nodded.  
"What is it with you and punching people?"  
"I don't like the idea of people abusing pokemon, and...well, it was the first thing that crosses my mind."  
Rui shrugged.  
"So, those sisters of yours...what exactly did they do to 'make sure they went down the right path?'"  
"...They basically filled the role of a mother...until I was fifteen. I don't know what Ghetsis did with them after that."  
Rui's eyes widened.  
"What?"  
"...Nothing."  
(POV: Rui)  
Molding the lives of three people-no, three children-to acheive a single goal? Not even Ein would stoop that low. raise one maybe, but to replace him, not to...eugh.  
N sent out the Minun, which bounced up and down excitedly, looking around. It stopped and looked confused. N looked at me.  
"Wes got it from the mayor and its been in a computer ever since."  
He looked like he might be in shock.  
"How could he-?"  
"As you said, better than attacking Cipher's dogs and getting stomped into the dirt."  
He shook his head.  
"I'm not sure about him..."

(third person)  
A single oddly garbed young man about Wes's age walked about, his eyes darting as much as possible without arising suspicion.  
"Hm...if that roller-coaster-haired scientist was lying I'll have to kill him. This is a waste of my ti-"  
He paused, eyeing them through the window.  
Perfect. Sure, there's a girl with him, but they won't be a match for myself.  
He walked back and forth, watching them. They left and he tailed them to about halfway through to the desert before confronting them, a slightly sadistic smile on his face.  
"Hello, prince. How nice to see that you are alive and well."  
(POV: Rui)  
Well, I was right screwed, wasn't I? The man-I think it was a man, was it?-Was obviously an assassin of some kind, and N's reaction to him was not reassuring.  
He backed up, looking both annoyed and afraid.  
"What do you want?"  
He asked in what was obviously a show of bravado.  
The man cracked his knuckles, looking amused.  
"I came to get rid of some pests. And I think you know what I mean."  
He looked confused, and I facepalmed.  
"He-you are a he right?"  
He nodded.  
"He means he's here to kill you."  
N backed up.  
"Plasma's gone! Ghetsis lost all his power, so why does he-  
"You're a failure. To put it simply: Looking at you reminds him of the nearly two decade-long time period he spent preparing you for a single loss. He needs to get rid of you before attempting his new plan."

"What plan? Plasma's dead, as N says, and they've been exposed-"  
"You'd be amazed what some people do. They know they're just pawns but fight regardless."  
I stepped forward. N was afraid of him, which for some reason angered me. "Leave him out of this!"  
He smirked.  
"Protective of the boy already? I never will understand why people react to him like that."  
I suppose he was right, which just ticked me off more.  
"Just shut up and leave."  
"I can't. I'm a professional."  
He sent out...what can only be described as some kind of Power Rangers reject villian.  
"...what?"  
"Yeah, we get that a lot. However, those blades are effective, so we make do. Now kill the girl."  
It walked towards me, and I backed up. In a flash, a glowing reg light appeared behind it.  
"What the hell?"  
"What the hell?"  
"What the-"  
N was cut off by Collinpumping it full of enough heat to knock it out. She could have destroyed it but I guess with N there "Threatening a friend of Wes like that? Stupid move."

"What the-"  
Collin turned around.  
"Where I came from or that I speak english?"  
The man was glaring.  
"Where did you come from?"  
"He came from the same direction I did."  
Wes stated, walking slowly towards him from the North. I suddenly felt hopeful.  
"Rui's attached herself to that kid, and as such I cannot allow him to die."  
He backed up, throwing down a smoke bomb and escaping.  
Wes ran to me, checking to make sure I wasn't hurt.  
"I was worried for a second there..."  
N coughed and then looked in the direction he'd run.  
"I've never seen one of them without the other two..."  
Wes paused and stood the rest of the way up.  
"...Then all three of them will be here shortly. Who was that?"  
N looked down.  
"I don't know his name, but he's a part of a trio of ninjas that my old man's had working for him for a while now. They're the ones that chose and delivered my pokemon...but unlike me, they are aware of what they're doing, they've probably known since the start. I uess he wants me dead."  
Wes laughed. N gave him an angry look.  
"What's so funny! I...don't want...to die alone."  
"That's the thing, kid. If Cipher hadn't captured you, I wouldn't have saved you and they'd actually be successful in killing you."  
N was just confused.  
"Anyway, we should be on the lookout. And stay away from ceilings. Why..."  
"Are they trying to kill me?"  
"No, why is it always ninjas?"  
I was exasperated now. N was not a threat, and I couldn't see why anyone would need to kill him. I guessed I'd have to pry it from them.  
Wes cut my train of thought off.  
"I guess I'll have to interogate one of them when they come back. For now, we should prepare and see if Natt knows what's going on."

N blinked.  
"Wait...who's Natt?"  
"One of the towns we freed was The Under. A group of the kids there are skilled with computers. The best of them is Natt. If anyone can find out what Cipher's up too, it's him."  
Wes was fiddling with the settings on the snag machine, as he often did when bored.  
N looked down.  
"If only I hadn't released my pokemon..."  
Wes was angry for a split second.  
"What?"  
N asked, confused. I sighed.  
"Orre, where we come from, is too desolate for pokemon to survive independently. So releasing a pokemon kills it."  
He nodded for a second, looking glum.  
"To think that once they served me, but now they're trying to kill me."  
Wes shrugged.  
"That's what happens."

Ein had his Alakazam teleport him to a hidden base.  
"Master Ein!"  
Cried a young girl, smiling at him. Venus walked in, bowing to him.  
"How has the project gone recently?"  
She stood back up, looking annoyed.  
"Dakim and I have been making...little progress. However I beleive we've almost found it."  
Ein nodded, lost in thought.  
"I'm going to leave on one of my own. There's another group that has some information I could use."  
"So you're going to become Dr. E again?"  
Ein stopped and turned around.  
"Yes. Unfortunately, those two pests are already onto us."  
Venus shrugged.  
"I suppose it can't be helped. We'll have to dispose of them properly this time."

Lovrina walked over to Ein, smiling.  
"The lastest batch is done! Got any work for me?"  
Ein nodded.  
"This one."  
He handed the pokeball containing N's Zoroark's pokeball to her.  
"Thaaank you!"  
She walked away to find her machine.  
"...I swear, even I'm disturbed by that girl."  
Venus shrugged.  
"Makes for better PR than creepy monotone."  
"I keep forgetting that the public doesn't think."

Wes faced north again.  
"We need to either shake them or fight. I'd like to fight, but protecting three people while fighting three is a lot more difficult than it sounds..."  
Rui scratched the back of her head.  
"...At least they don't have Shadows."  
Wes sighed.  
"You never know..."

Ein walked away, thinking to himself.  
Getting close to Ghetsis won't be difficult, after all he did buy my genetically enhanced Hydreigon. The other test subjects have begun to weaken, and perhaps I could convince him to supply me with the funds and resources to create one that won't weaken over time. The old fool is in a power hungry state, after all, grasping at straws and trying with his entire being to acheive what he so pathetically failed to gain. As a result, he will be much more... susceptible. The idea of using his "son" as a bargaining chip for ability to control Zekrom, and as a result, to pose a threat won't work, however I hardly need it. Wes...retribution will come. Because, lad, I am not Ghetsis. I am not an old man with numbered days. I have plenty of time and I plan fully on using it.

...several minutes later...  
Ghetsis walked forward, having received reports from his employed quartet. A grunt wearing Neo Plasma's pirate-esque uniform ran in, looking perturbed.  
"Milord, a man by the name of 'Dr. E' has requested an audience with you immediately!"  
What! How could an outsider have found this secluded place! o matter, I'll just kill hi-wait a minute...where have I heard that...?  
After several minutes of walking, he was in front of his hiding place's entrance, a massive but worn set of double doors.  
"It's been a long time since I last conducted buisness with you, Ghetsis."

Ghetsis blinked with his one real eye, surprised.  
"So how did my Hydreigon assist you in your plans?"  
"It was defeated. By a child."  
Ghetsis was seething at the doctor, almost baring his teeth.  
"I fail to see how that could happen; no member of its species could possibly compete with it. It's EVs and IVs are both all maxed, and it evolved ten levels early."  
Ghetsis gave him a o_O look.  
"My apologies for using technical talk. I meant that it was far, FAR, more powerful than should have been possible for it at that point in time."  
"It's already started getting weaker. Explain that."  
"All pokemon weaken as they age, and since that one is a genetic multi-splice, the process takes place much faster. That is the...flaw that I mentioned when we discussed buisness before."  
Ghetsis eyed him.  
"You have a lot of nere, coming here."  
Au contraire, my one-eyed friend. I came to see if you could provide the funds and recources to further my research, which I would then provide you with free of charge."  
Ghetsis eyed him.  
"...What makes think I'd accept this...offer?"  
"...As I've said, all proceeds go directly to you. I'm merely in it for the knowledge." Ghetsis thought about it.  
"Okay. You're hired. But I don't have time for mistakes."  
"Ghetsis, you should know by now...I do not disappoint."

N looked around.  
"...we should go to Unova."  
"What!"  
"Who knows where they took my friend...and if I got Zekrom back, I'd be able to fight them on equal ground."  
Wes frowned.  
"...you had better know what you're doing, kid."  
Rui smiled.  
"Cheer up! Besides, we need the firepower and you know it."  
He nodded.  
"I suppose you're right. Well, lead the way to a port."  
N shook his head.  
"What do you mean? I don't know where any of them are!"  
Wes facepalmed.  
"You've got to be kidding me..."

"Anyway, come on."  
He sent out Skamary, Stantler, and Suicune.

Wes and Rui mounted Stantler and Suicune respectively.  
"I guess I'm with you then..."  
N muttered in pokespeak before getting on Skamary.  
They all seet off for Lilycove.

After arriving in the city, Wes returned his Pokemon. Then he set off to find a ship to take, leaving N and Rui.  
N watched him leave, standing close to Rui.  
"...What do you think of him?"  
Rui gave him a confused look.  
"What... do you mean?"  
"...As a friend or...?"  
Rui backed back, blushing.  
"Wait...oh, I get it."  
"What?"  
"Our relationship is strictly professional."

He blinked.  
"Oh. That's not what it looked like to me..."  
Rui was slightly annoyed now.  
Egh. I'm not even sure he realizes what he's saying.  
"So, how long has it been since you left Plasma?"  
"About a month. And apparently Ghetsis already started scheming again..."  
"It's okay. I'm sure that either Cipher or Wes'll put an end to it before it gets too far. And don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known what he was doing."  
He smiled slightly.  
"Thanks, I...I needed that."  
Rui blushed again and turned around.

Seth was standing with Umbreon on his shoulders, annoyed.  
"I don't get it. What does she see in him? He's clueless, dependent, weak, and he assumes everyone is going to try and help him."  
Umbreon smirked.  
"Well, you want to know? Here's what you don't notice: He's kind, his heart's in the right place, he's loyal, his cluelessness is amusing to her, he's younger than you-"  
"What the-? What gave you the idea that-"  
"And he's got long hair. And it's green."  
"What does hair have to do with this?"  
"Wes. We're a part of Japanese pop culture. Hair has EVERYTHING to do with this."

Wes had no idea what Umbreon was talking about, and Umbreon really didn't either. "What did I just say...?"  
"This conversation happened never."  
"Agreed. So do you have the tickets yet?"  
"No. I just came here to vent that I'm stuck with that moron now."  
"Well we should start doing that."  
"Okay, let's see...S.S. Aqua? Sure."  
He walked up to a clerk.  
"I'll have three tickets for this ship."  
"That will be 36,000 poke."  
"I'll be broke if we keep taking these..."  
Wes muttered, making payment via his PDA's built in credit...thing. Let's just say his PDA works like a credit card. Yes. So with 36 fewer thousand poke in his account, he walked towards Rui and N to inform them that their ship would be leaving soon.

Wes saw the two turn to look at him.  
"I got three tickets for Unova. The boat leaves soon, so follow me."  
He lead them to the boat, handing them their tickets.  
"I hope you know what you're doing."

N didn't respond, as he was still uncomfortable with Wes.  
The three waited for several minutes before the boat arrived. They got two rooms: Wes and Rui in one and N in another.  
Wes sighed.  
"I need to get some sleep..."  
He lied down in his bed and fell sleep. N sat in his room, mulling over what had happened in his head. He sent out Plusle.  
"Plus!" (Hi!)  
"Hello. What's your name?"  
He asked, petting it. It looked confused.  
"Pl-plu...?" (But you're...?)  
"Yes. I speak pokespeak. Surprised?"  
"P...lue..."(Y...yes...)  
"I get that a lot."  
He stopped petting it and looked up.  
"Pluesu?" (What did you want me for?)  
"What do you mean?"  
"Plusue plue susu. Pluslsus." (You sent me out, you must need something. What is it?)  
"...You shouldn't be stuck in that thing all the time."  
"Sus?" (What?)

(Wes's dream, take 1)  
A young boy was standing in a snow-covered field, looking down. He bent over to pick up something tattered and brown, then turned to walk away, teary eyed. He continued to walk, with no end of the field in sight. Snow fell lightly around him, but he remained fixated on what was in his arms. His gaze was solid yet empty, as if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. His hands started tightening around it as he continued to walk.  
(third person)  
Wes continued to sleep, but his face was contorted as though he were in pain. Rui knew better than to wake him, but since doing so was tempting, she went to the door leading to N's room and knocked. N oopened the door.  
"You don't have to knock, you can just walk in, I don't mind."  
He said to her with a smile. She smiled back.  
"...I see you introduced yourself to Plusle."  
"Yeah...it..."  
"Listen. We keep pokemon in pokeballs for their own good, and we actually mean that. We've been meaning to return it to its owner, but Wes...kept forgetting it existed."  
N's face was pained for a second.  
"I'm so worried...about my friend. The thought of him, stuck in a pokeball and unable to escape from those horrible people, only being released so he can fight..."  
"It's okay. We'll get him back. I mean it."

N looked at the ground.  
"Thanks. I don't know if I've said it, but you remind me of them. My two older sisters."  
She blinked.

He looked up.

Plusle jumped up and down.  
"Plupluplu!" (Hey, I'm hungry!)  
N looked at it.  
"You guys...do feed it regularly, right?"  
Rui was about to punch him but stopped.  
Calm down...got to remeber what he was raised to believe.  
"...Why is your hand clenched?"  
"No reason. He's hungry?"  
N nodded.  
"Then let's get him some food."

Rui turned around and walked off, N following.  
"Er, Rui, I should probably tell you..."  
"Yeah?"  
"That dream...I've had others like it, and they always came true. I'm afraid of what's going to happen..."  
"Well maybe some of Wes's crazy dreams rubbed into yours. Half of his involve me dying, and most of the other half are so totally random that they couldn't possibly come true."  
N blinked, looking at her with his head tilted.  
"I hope so..."  
"Plusueplusue!" (Cheer up, cheer up!)  
He laughed.  
"Thanks, I needed that."  
"Pluselle, plu suesus?" (Then could you, thank me with food?)  
N smiled.  
"Okay, don't worry."  
They walked into the kitchen and ordered some pokemon food.

A chef handed a bowl of it to Rui. She set it down and watched as Plusle wolfed it down.  
"Ususususususus!" (nomnomnomnomnomnom!)  
N smiled at it.

"So, N, what do you want...to do? We got time."  
N blinked.  
"Huh?"  
She was blushing now.  
You know what? I kind of like him...  
"You know, we gotta do something to pass time until the ship docks."  
"Could you take this discussion elsewhere? Seriously, teens these days..."  
She realized she was in front of the counter.  
"Oh, I'm sorry..."  
She bowed before walking off. N was carrying Plusle in his arms. Plusle was confused.  
"...Do you have any parents?"  
If any other guy asked me that I'd think they were trying to...  
"No...my parents disappeared a while back so I went to live with my grandparents, and...they...they've both died of old age."  
And I would NOT have said that. He nodded.  
"...I never knew my mom. And Ghetsis was the closest thing I had to family."  
"What about your sisters?"  
"...I never really saw them as family. I don't even remember their names."  
"...What do think of Ghetsis?"  
He froze and his hair fell over his eyes.

Ooohhh crap, I shouldn't have set that.  
(POV: N)  
"...What do think of Ghetsis?"  
I stopped and looked down. My hair fell over my eyes as it tended to when I did so. What...what did I think of him? My whole life, he had always made sure I got what I wanted...no, that was fake. The moment he put me in that room he had doomed me to being a puppet. But...he kept me around even as Black kept defeating me, which is against the things he did. But then he put me in charge of Plasma, and he...he's the only reason I met either of them...  
"Hey N! You okay?"  
I looked up at her, eyes full of tears. I didn't know what to say, and...suddenly she hugged me.  
"Calm down. He can't hurt you. Wes'll make sure of that."  
My eyes widened for a bit and I hugged her back, smiling. I guess people like Black weren't as rare as I thought. People...I could call friends.


	4. Old Foes Unite as Comerades

Hey! It's me, loyal readers! All….one or two….of you. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for long this is taking. Oh, and ignore any random blue you see.

Plusle felt awkward just being there in the middle.  
"Plusue!" (You're crushing me!)  
"Oh, sorry."  
N let go, as did Rui. Plusle fell to the ground, panting.  
"Pluplusus...suesle!" (Next time...warn me!)  
N laughed, his face back to his usual cheery self.  
"Sure, little guy."  
He picked it back up.  
"...I'm looking forward to meeting Zekrom again. I regret leaving it behind, but..."  
"I know the feeling. Wes released his Ho-oh a while ago. Never looked back."  
N was literally floored.  
"WHAT."  
"Yeah, we had a Ho-oh."  
"But...HOW!?"  
"We had to completely undo what Cipher did and prove our strength in Mt. Battle."  
N had gotten back up.

"Are you sure it's him?"  
"No. I've only found _another_ boy with long _green_ hair, a necklace that I swear is some kind of logo, and a monotone rubix cube. _Who speaks pokespeak. WHO ELSE COULD IT BE!?_"  
"But...I thought he was gone..."  
"So did I."  
With that he pushed up his glasses.  
"I'm not about to let all our fighting be for naught. Those two may have forgiven him, but not me!"  
"Don't you think you're being a little hard on him...?"  
"No. Not in the least."  
"But Blaaackk-"  
"Are you forgetting what he did? He took the champion, the elite 4, and White _hostage,_ all in one go!"  
Rui looked over.  
"What the-"  
"You know N, you have a _lot_ of nerve coming here."  
Cheren walked out from behind the corner. Bianca followed.  
N's eyes were wide and he gulped.  
"So, what is it this time? Trying to revive Zekrom?"  
"...Yes..."  
"Oh? You have the _nerve,_ after all you did, to just come back, waltz in, and, to put some icing on that daring cake, you want your dragon back. And you think I'll let you...because?"  
(POV: Rui)  
Okay, whoever this was, he came off as a snobby rich kid.  
"Leave him alone."  
"Who is that anyway? Some-"  
She slapped him.  
"My apologies, but wasn't I _your_ escort back in the day?"  
"Well yes, but-"  
"Then don't go accusing her of...that...because she is one!"  
She looked Rui over.  
"So, you're his escort, right?"  
I shook my head.  
"No, I'm his...er...his friend."

"Anyway, what're your names? And why haven't I-"  
"I'm Bianca, and this is my friend, Cheren."  
Bianca bowed.  
"He probably didn't think to mention us cause we only fought him once or twice each, and it not seeming important at the time."  
N sweat-dropped.  
"So let's hear it: Why do you want the dragon back?"  
I immediately spoke up.  
"We're trying to fight off Cipher, an evil group who turn Pokemon into heartless-"  
"Oh, you really expect me to believe that? Pokeballs don't do that, miss."  
"No, that's not what they meant."  
Came Wes's voice from behind us. Wes walked over in between us and the two.  
"You look surprised."  
He stated, giving me a distasteful look.  
"How could we not? And what's that machine on your arm?"  
"Where did you come from?"  
"What's with the tan line on your face?"  
"Isn't Cheren a girl's name?"  
"What's with the longcoat? We're inside."  
"Why do you ask so many questions?"  
They looked at each other for a moment.  
"How about we both answer one of the other's questions?"  
"Yes."  
Cheren froze and facepalmed.  
"Stupid loopholes...we're here because the champion wanted our company for traveling. Besides, he's hunting for Ghetsis and we have a score to settle with him."  
Bianca nodded.  
"We can't let him get away. Not after he did to White...what's with your face?"  
Wes had gotten pale. Cheren realized what he thought.  
"Luckily, no he didn't go that far."  
Wes nodded and then blinked.  
"Well then I guess I have slightly less reason to beat the tar out of him."  
"Hey! Where did you two go?"

(POV:Wes)  
When I saw that man...instinct took over.  
"Dakim!"  
I seethed and ran at him. I punched him in the face, which knocked him down.  
"Wes stop!"  
Rui cried from behind me. I turned around.  
"What? He's evil."  
"He's obviously not Dakim, Dakim would still be standing."  
I froze and did a nervous laugh.  
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else."  
I told him as I helped him up.  
"Quick to the trigger, are you?"

He rubbed the part of his face I'd punched, amused.  
"You must be a newcomer. What region are you from?"  
I'd realized he must be the 'champion' that Cheren and Bianca spoke of, so I assumed he must be important. I saluted.  
"I'm an Orrean, sir!"  
He looked slightly bewildered.  
"You don't have to address me like some kind of drill sergeant. Just treat me like a normal person."  
My hand dropped and I was still looking at him.  
"By the way, have you seen this person?"  
He handed me a wanted poster with a mugshot of the scientist we'd seen earlier on it.  
"Yes. Back in Mauville. But we don't know where he is now. We didn't know who he was at the time,"  
I said, giving Rui and annoyed stare. She looked away from me.  
"Anyway, I was starting to get bored. How about a pokemon battle?"  
Cheren objected.  
"You have to get through the eight gyms and the eli-"  
"Calm down, Cheren. I'm just as bored as he sounds. And besides, he doesn't look like the type to accept the position."

Cheren stepped back and crossed his arms, unamused.  
I sent out Skamary and Stantler.  
"A double? Okay, why not. But I'd rather do this in the ship's arena-its designed to prevent collateral damage."  
I nodded and returned them. He lead my group and I to a large room in the ship and stood on the opposite side.  
"Well then,"  
He sent out Druddigon and Accelegor.  
I sent out Stantler and Skamary again.  
"Your move."  
He stated, wathing me.  
Okay then...  
"Skamary, swords dance! Stantler, work up!"  
Skamary did a short dance, sharpening its knife-like feathers, talons, and tail. Stanler narrowed its eyes.  
"Interesting. Most people just unload with everything. N could learn a thing or two from you."  
Not to sound egotistical, but this guy's the champion? That much should be obvious.  
"Now then Druddigon, get behind it and use Superpower!"  
With surprising agility, the snake...reptile...thing...leapt behind Stantler and was leaning back, preparing a nasty attack. Heh.  
"Skamary, use Metal Sound to distact it!"  
Skamary's jaw moved back and forth, producing an extremely loud noise which was painful to listen to. Startled, the creature froze for a moment. Big mistake.  
"Now, use Psycic!"  
Stantler complied, attacking its mind directly and making it stumble backwards in pain.  
"Focus Blast!"  
Touche.  
"Skamary, take the hit!"  
It flew into the attack, dispersing it and taking minimal damage.  
"Of course. Interesting maneuver."  
Shut up, old man.  
"Drill peck that...the ting that just attacked you!"  
It complied, spinning savagely as it bored into whatever that bug thing was. It floated at a lower altitude, looking pained.  
"Finish it with earthquake!"  
Stantler stomped, which caused the ground to heave about, throwing his two pokemon around and leaving the bug unconcious.  
"You're much stronger than I expected..."  
He said in a bored manner, returning it.  
"I must admit, I don't have much practice with bouble battles..."  
Shut up and send your next one out already.  
"Go bouffalant !"  
He sent out a bull with an afro. What is that I don't even  
"I take it you aren't familiar with Unovan pokemon?"  
"Correct."  
He smiled slightly.  
"Yet another...but he's actually beating me..."  
"Earthquake again! Drill peck on the dragon thing!"  
Stantler stomped again, causing another earthquake which knocked both against walls. Skamary spun again and nailed the lizard thing in the chest, KOing it.

He returned it, with a thoughtful expression.  
"...Can I have your name?"  
Seriously, just shut up.  
"My name is Wes."  
He shrugged.  
"Why so hostile?"  
I'm sorry, where I'm from almost every person you meet would stab you for practically nothing. Not to mention one of my worst enemies happens to look _almost exactly like you_.  
He sent out...an ice cream. A giant, two-scoop, ice cream. What.  
I sighed.  
"I'm not even going to ask."  
"Use Blizzard!"  
"Skamary, fly away from it! Stantler, just...er...brace yourself."  
Skamary turned and flew away. the blizzard's wind carried it along, keeping it out of the attacked area. Stantler shivered as it took considerable damage.  
"Now, use Head Charge!"  
The afro bull charged at Stantler.  
"Counter with Megahorn!"  
The two slammed into each other head first and Stantler quivered, struggling to stand. Its opponent fared no better.  
"Skamary! Steel wing on the giant ice cream abomination!"  
It complied, flying over to it and slashing viciously. The creature was obviously in great pain.  
"Use Blizzard again!"  
It inhaled. I smirked. This was gonna be good.  
"Stantler use Earthquake!"  
"Bouffalant, do the same!"  
The ground shook with an immense force, but being used to this from fighting Dakim, I managed to stay up. My adversary, however, was knocked down. When he got up, he saw that everything save for my Skamary, which due to being aerial hadn't been hit, was down and out.  
I returned Stantler, watching him.  
"I'm far from defeated, Wes!"  
He sent out some kind of shell thing with two spear arms, and...a giant, furry moth with multiple orange wings.  
I smirked.  
"Well, I know exactly how to respond to that. Tyranitar!"  
I sent out the behemoth, which somehow fit in the room. It roared and sand materialized all around, forming a typhoon of it. I donned my goggles.  
"Skamary, use Drill Peck on the...on the thing that isn't a moth! Godzilla, use Dragon Dance!"  
The beast did a short maneuver that psyched it up, making it faster and stronger. Meanwhile, Skamary had bored into the shell creature's face.  
It looked aggravated.  
"Counter by using Iron Head! And Volcora, use Quiver Dance!"  
It lifted its head, causing Skamary to slip off, then came down, smashing it on the ground. It was still in great pain yet kept itself conscious.  
"Now use Stone Edge!"  
Tyranitar struck the thing from below with its tail, promptly knocking it out.  
"...I still might win! Overheat that bird!"  
It unleashed a sphere of raw heat on Skamary, knocking it out and searing its wings. I returned it. The mothera-like being was flinching due to the sand.  
"Fool."  
I sent out Suicune.  
"Hydro Pump. Stone Edge."  
Both complied, which smashed Volcora's conciousness out of existance. The 'champion' was apparently impressed.  
"...Wow."  
I returned Suicune and Tyranitar.

The orange-haired hippie guy was smiling.  
"I must admit, you're probably better at this than me-however, I had to hold back since you hadn't technically earned the right to an honest match against me."  
Excuses, excuses.  
"Anyway, where did that sand come from?"  
I shrugged.  
"Don't question it."  
I walked back over to Rui, who was watching me.  
"Wait...how long were you watching us?"  
"Since you left the counter."  
She sweatdropped.  
I think she expected me to be jealous of N or something. Heh.  
(POV: Rui)  
I know the Dakim lookalike-Cheren said his name was Adler-was holding back, but Wes definitely was as well. Sort of. If you count him intentionally reacting much slower and waiting like that holding back. Which I do. Umbreon came running over, leaping onto his shoulder.  
"You done yet?"  
"Yes. Yes I am."  
Cheren seemed interested.  
"It...talks?"  
"Yes. Six of my pokemon do. Him, Espeon, Blazekin, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."  
Cheren's mouth was hanging open.  
"You have...THREE LEGENDARIES!?"  
"You act like it's a big deal. They aren't even that special."  
Cheren looked insulted.  
"Anyway, I'd be tempted to assume you abuse that thing-"  
"And what makes you say that?"  
"I don't know, maybe the scars?"  
Those aren't from Wes. I thought, only I realized as I did so Umbreon had said it out loud.  
"And in case you were wondering, I'm not an _it._ I'm male, and if you want to call me something, I'm either Umbreon or him. Got that?"  
He nodded, looking confused.  
(POV: N)  
I had only just now gotten a good look at his Umbreon, and I agreed with Cheren. He did look rather abused. For starters, there was a long scar going down its back. It also had cuts all over its feet and really unkempt fur. It also had a way about it which made it nowhere near as lively as a normal pokemon-which up until now, I had always took to mean as a telltale sign of abuse.  
It also had multiple small scars all about its body which you'd only see if you looked carefully.  
"What's with the look?"  
I averted my eyes. I wasn't used to pokemon speaking english.  
"You speak pokespeak as well, or just english?"  
"Both. But yours is hard to understand. Use english."  
Wow. I never imagined a pokemon would tell me to use use english so it could understand me better.

"Fine then."  
It looked around.  
"I'm bored."  
Wes laughed.  
"Well, there isn't that much to do on this ship anyway."  
He petted it.  
"You taught your pokemon english?"  
Adler asked. I gulped. I wasn't sure what he was going to do and I wasn't sure Wes would stop him-he'd probably actually help him.  
"Yes. Is it really that hard to understand?"  
"Well, its just that he doesn't look like the type with such patience."  
"I have a lot of spare time."  
I was unsure how to respond, so I just watched.  
"I hear you're trying to get the dragon back, huh? Well, I can't help you with that"  
What? I thought he would outright stop me.  
"Because I really don't have much power. The people wouldn't have obeyed you because you were the champion, but because you had Zekrom and, well, they sort of idolize it. Defeating me only added to that by making it clear you had the real thing."  
I guess he was right. But he sounded more understanding than I expected.  
"You know, you're surprisingly kind for someone who...did what you did. So, making human fiends other than Black, are you?"  
Yes. So, I nodded.  
"Goodbye for the moment,"  
He stated before walking off. Cheren and Bianca followed.  
I smiled. I guess my reputation wasn't as bad as I thought it was.  
"I'm guessing you've met him before?"  
Rui snapped me out of my thoughts.  
"Oh, yeah. I, er, I-"  
"You beat him, summoned a castle out from below him, and tried to end his way of life."  
Umbreon said in English, cutting me off.  
Rui face palmed and Wes was snickering. I was hurt, but not much.  
"So...he can read minds?"  
"Yes. And...don't let it bother you. He's just really blunt."  
I nodded. Something about the way she'd said it was reassuring.  
"Hey kid, can you swim?"  
Now that I thought of it, no.  
"No, why?"  
He shrugged.  
"The pool's the only thing I can think of to do. Other than challenging random people, and that gets boring fast."  
The old me would have absolutely despised him. As it was, I definitely only trusted him because of Rui.

"I'll be getting food if you two need me."  
He walked off, the Umbreon on his shoulder. I sighed.

_Attention. The boat will dock in five minutes._  
"I guess we don't have to wait much longer then."  
She nodded.  
"Plupluplu." (I'm still here.)  
I looked down.  
"Oh. Sorry I forgot you.  
I picked it up.  
"Lusueplu." (Bored.)  
It pointed towards the pokeball. It wanted to be confined? I swear, he kept getting weirder.  
I returned it.  
"It...wanted to be in there. Why?"  
Rui shrugged.  
"It's used to it, I guess."  
"That...doesn't make any sense."  
She shrugged.  
"You got me there."

I lookedd at her and smiled.  
"How long have you known him?"  
"About a year. He would have left me after we struck Cipher down, but...that's when Beluh died. Wes couldn't bring himself to leave me so he stayed...and then Eugun followed not long after. Both my grandparents, my only remaining family, in three months...he vowed to stay by my side until..."  
"Until...what?"  
I asked. She looked like she was hiding something.  
"What is _that_?"  
She cried, running to the window. I don't get it: what did she have to hide? Humans are so confusing sometimes...but I followed her and realized she was pointing to a ferris wheel.  
"That's Castelia's amusement park."  
I half-said, half-grumbled as I stood next to her.

I lookedd at her and smiled.  
"How long have you known him?"  
"About a year. He would have left me after we struck Cipher down, but...that's when Beluh died. Wes couldn't bring himself to leave me so he stayed...and then Eugun followed not long after. Both my grandparents, my only remaining family, in three months...he vowed to stay by my side until..."  
"Until...what?"  
I asked. She looked like she was hiding something.

She frowned at me.  
"Why are you suddenly so glum?"  
She asked in a concerned voice. I looked at it.  
"...There used to be a forest...there. But now. it's..."  
She sighed.  
"Sorry, but in comparison to Orre this is nothing."  
"But Orre's naturally like that, right?"  
"Wrong."  
Came a familiar feminine voice. I turned and saw Espeon walk over and rub against Rui's leg. It faced me.  
"It wasn't like that before. It used to be a nice place, decent nature...but now, from all the mining and the acid rain and fish kills...it became a desert."  
I looked down at her. How could she say that so calmly...! She, who because of those irresponsible humans, had no home!  
"I do have a home. With Wes."  
So she could read minds too, huh.  
"Yes, I can."  
Now I got a good look at her.  
"Is everything you say that easy to miscomprehend?"  
I just decided to ignore her for a moment. Anyway, her fur was just as dirty as Umbrreon's, and she had just as many scars. Her right ear had a hole in it as well.

"You disgust me."  
"Why?"  
Rui was smirking at me.  
What?"  
"Oh nothing."  
(POV: Rui)  
He was just so..._clueless._ Refreshingly so. While Wes is paranoid and sarcastic, N isso dang trusting and means everything he says. And he's a nice guy and...sorry. Off topic.  
N looked up at the sky whistfully. I knew better than to ask why.  
(Flashback: N)  
_Okay, so why did you bring me up here again?  
You know, you strike me as odd. You continue to spport trainers like Black, and yet...you aren't one yourself.__  
And what's that supposed to mean?  
I mean...I want your help.  
Oh really? I thought you just wanted to help me find those Plasma guys that Black was looking for.  
No, actually. I'm...kind of their leader.__  
OH ARCEUS HELP ME.  
Are you safe milord?  
I got her. You know what to do.__  
THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY TH-_  
(third person)  
Rui called N's name. He blinked.  
"Sorry, my mind went back for a bit there."

Dakim and Mirror B were in a small cave.  
"That's the last of them."  
"So now you're with Venus again?"

"I forgot she bothers you."  
"You talk too much."  
"I gotta make up for your silence!"

"You hear about that pink-haired chick?"  
"Shut up."  
"Oh come on, man! A twelve-year old otaku suddenly gets admin position and you're not even curious?"  
"Come on. The mission's over."

(POV: Zoroark)  
I'd never felt so weak in my life. The last time I fought was against Yardo, Black's Samurott, and I almost defeated him. But this time, I was practically thrown aside, and to make matters worse I was trapped in a pokeball. N never kept me in one for long, but it had been a whole day so obviously he didn't have me. All those thoughts flew through my head simultaneously as I was sent out and landed in a capsule barely big enough to hold me. I was still sore but out of willpower I kept myself awake. I could vaguely hear a mechanical whirring which, considering my predicament, was terrifying. Suddenly a massive jolt filled my body. All I could fell was agony as my body thrashed about trying to fight off something that wasn't there. I clenched my teeth as memories flew through me. Why hadn't N come to help? Surely he wouldn't leave me! But... suddenly the surge of memories was replaced by a single image.  
It was N and I facing each other back in the castle.  
I realized something. He had released me then. Even though I had fought to get back to him and managed just before Black did...he released me. Did I really mean so little to him? The sudden realization left me feeling abondoned and worthless as I relinquished myself. My memories were suppressed and I awoke as someone else...  
(third person)  
Lovrina was cringing.  
"Er, miss? Are you okay?"  
Asked a nearby grunt. She hastily returned to her usual expression and nodded.  
_I hate that moment, I really do._  
She thought. She understood the strength of Shadows and knew that it was necessary. It wasn't a guilty conscience, either. It was the squirming. It resembled a seizure and watching it made her feel queezy.

Lovrina pressed a button on her iPony, cueing the FF Victory theme.  
"Another job well done,"  
She stated to herself with a smile. The grunt sighed and walked off.  
_His identity is gone. Now his owner can't use that POL crap to screw us over. We aren't done, though, next is reeducation. That's what makes my process different. Mine are still sentient, so no exact words either._  
She fingered a translator system she was wearing. It recorded what she said and repeated in other languages, and could do the same for others through headphones she'd replaced her iPony's with.  
"Who are you?"  
She smirked.

(POV: Rui)  
Wes, N, and I walked down to the dock. I looked at N. He was obviously distraught, so I considering looking into his heart. It was an odd ability I had, and I couldn't look very deep into most humans because... I'd be overwhelmed by all their memories and thoughts if I did. I could, however, look deep enough to see how they viewed themselves and their actions. This ability allowed me to veiw the tainted aura of Shadows, which is what made me a target of Cipher in the first place. Pokemon, though, were different. Their hearts were so much more simple that I could typically read them like a book. Something told me he'd be more like them. But I always felt guilty when I did that to Wes. I felt like I was invading someone's privacy, and with Wes I couldn't get deep enough to see what he thought of me. I decided just to do it anyway. I focused on him.

I guess I was right, because his emotions flew into me much sooner than I expected. He was cheerful with an undertone of loss. His heart was so...simple. Nothing like...say, Wes's.  
"Rui, do that later. People are staring."  
Of course, N wouldn't think it was odd I was staring at him. I blinked as my eyes narrowed to their normal size and walked forward. N was looking around.  
"Are we staying for the night or going directly to the tower?"  
"We have no time for sightseeing, kid. Tower."  
He nodded and turned around. We started walking.

I felt awkward, so I explained what we were looking for to Wes.  
"Sooo...the kid who stopped you, Black...you consider him a friend?"  
"If it wasn't for him, Ghetsis would be ruling this region right now."  
Wes nodded. I watched him. If N found out what he used to be...there's no way he'd be as forgiving as I was. To Wes, that would make him a hypocrite, but...N thought he was in the right. Wes, however...he was a thief, plain and simple. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway. It took them cooperating with the most horrible people in existence to make him an enemy of Snagem. In N's eyes...  
He looked at me.  
"What's wrong? You look upset."  
I could suddenly see why Wes thought he was annoying.  
"No, I'm fine."  
"But-"  
"I'm fine."  
I smiled at him.

(POV: N)  
I didn't get it. She was obviously upset but she wouldn't tell me why. That's one reason I'll never understand people: They lie so much. I doubt she even realized it. But...  
"If you say so."  
I said, walking next to her. I smiled back. Soon I'd get to introduce Zekrom to her, and maybe take her for a ride...  
Umbreon shivered for some reason. He was aggravating me, but I guess it couldn't be helped.  
"That looks neat. Be right back!"  
She ran over to a vendor.  
"Oh sorry."  
She ran back.  
"Wes, can I borrow your-"  
"Sure, fine. Don't take too long though."  
He handed his...I think it was a pokedex...to her.  
"It's a PDA."  
Whatever that is.

I looked at Wes and frowned. I just had this instinctive feeling he was bad news, and his treatment of me wasn't exactly stellar.  
But he was Rui's friend. She trusted him. What had he done to earn her trust like that?  
"Well, we did-"  
"Stop it Umbreon. He's thinking, and if you keep interrupting he'll take longer."  
I couldn't figure him out! No matter how I angle it, I could not-  
"You gotta try this, it's delicious!"  
Rui was behind me, eating...something.  
"Okay let's go."

(POV: Wes)  
That kid's staring was starting to annoy me. It was like he always had to be transfixed on something. And then if it bothered you he wouldn't know why. I felt sorry for all the people who'd had to work for him before. I could tell what Rui was thinking. I knew his kind. If he heard about my past I'd never hear the end of it and he may actually run away. I didn't want to explain myself to him anyway.  
(third person)  
N got a map of Unova and a marker. He marked a spot with the marker.  
"Wes, we need to get a taxi."

N handed Wes the map.  
"I'm probably wanted..."  
"Then meet us there."  
Wes gave Skamary's pokeball to him. N nodded.  
"Okay then."  
Wes walked off with Rui. N waved at her as they went.  
He looked around. The buildings aggravated him due to the stories he'd heard from pokemon as a child.  
_They came out of nowhere and destroyed my home!__  
I had nothing to eat for days! I nearly starved!  
They forced us to leave-and there was nowhere to go!_  
His empty hand was clenched. He looked at the ferris wheel and saw himself and White again.  
He shook his head and sent out the bird. He got on its back.  
"Ascend, please."  
It seemd confused by his asking it to do something rather than commanding it, but it complied. Eventually, the Dragonspiral tower was in sight.  
"There."  
He pointed to it.

Skamary flew to the tower over several minutes. Watching it grow closer, N mulled over his last visit. Eventually, they got there and Skamary landed.  
"I never imagined I'd be coming here again..."  
He muttered, petting Skamary. It gave him a confused look as if to say, "What are you doing?" N sighed, his eyes half-closed. He was upset and confused.  
"I'm sorry I have to do this. You deserve to be free but I guess I have no choice..."  
He walked forward. Ahead of him was a long climb. He'd be alone and the place was sort of depressing to him now, so he didn't return Skamary.  
"Come on. I need the company anyway."  
It followed, looking confused. They slowly walked up the tower, N filled with regret where during his last visit had been excitement. He didn't wish for Zekrom to be hurt but it was his only asset. Besides, he'd need someone understanding of him, and Zekrom always seemed to know exactly how he felt. Soon he was in the room where the two stones lay in a state of peace. He once more felt a pang of guilt for involving the majestic creature.

N walked over to the Black Stone. He watched it for a second and set his hand on it. A slight jolt passed through him, followed by a tingling feeling in his hand. He smiled slightly as a familiar aura emanated from it. The stone glowed black as it recognized him and a warm feeling passed through him. He held it firmly.  
"...Thank you."  
He returned Skamary and turned around, walking down the tower, where Wes and Rui had just arrived.  
"Got him. Now, where do we go next?"  
Wes shrugged.  
Rui thought a bit.  
"We don't know enough. Maybe if we conduct a search?"

"Not so fast."  
The Shadow Triad had suddenly appeared.  
"We learned from last time. En guarde!"  
He lunged at Wes with a sword that he had suddenly pulled from nowhere. Wes drew his just in time to parry it.  
"What the-who are you?"  
"You don't need to know!"  
He flicked his wrist, disarming Wes.  
"You don't even know how to-"  
Wes had drawn a gun and was about to shoot. A whistling sound filled the air as a Bisharp knocked it away whilst simutaneously bisecting it. Wes leaped away, sending out Flygon.  
"Earthquake!"  
It complied, sending the creature sprawling and unconcious. But before he the time to follow through, a second was slashing at him.  
_Damn they're fast_  
He punched it with his covered arm. It barely flinched and swung. He fell backwards and barely dodged, landing on his back. It swung around and was about to gouge his chest. Flygon used dragon claw to drag it. It remained unhindered, almost smirking, and slammed its head into the beast. It seethed in pain and used earthquake again, knocking another out. Now an Absol charged at Seth. He kicked it in the jaw, disorienting it. As it regained its bearings, he grabbed its blade and twisted. It howled in agony and fell over. With a kick to the chest, Wes finished the job of making it unconscious.  
"Is that all?"  
"Hardly."  
Three Bisharps appeared out of nowhere and converged on him. Smirking, he chuckled.  
"Really?"  
He jumped and put a foot on one of their shoulders, leaping off.  
"Now!"  
Flygon used earthquake yet again, defeating all three.  
"We're not done yet!"  
Now yet another was attacking him. He rolled, grabbing his sword and rising into a defensive pose.  
It walked towards him, only for Flygon to dispatch it the way it had the others.  
"How is the ground still the same?"  
Pondered Wes out loud.  
(POV: N)  
I'd never seen such a fast-paced, brutal fight. Especially considering Wes was fighting some of the pokemon on his own and actually doing well. I knew they were attacking us, but it was only because they were told to! I felt both angry and saddened watching the battle. But the noise that Absol made-it made me want to cry. It didn't do anything wrong, it was just doing what they told it to! That's when I felt Rui's hand on my shoulder.  
"It can't be helped. No use getting worked up over it."  
guess she was right, but...  
(third person)  
The three attackers watched Wes in amazement.  
"...This one could be trouble. We should regroup."  
"Running away? Again?"  
Wes turned to look at them.  
"Some assassins you turned out to be."  
"Silence!"  
Two of them sent out an Accelegor and a Bannete.  
"I guess I have to rethink this."  
Wes sent out Tyranitar. It roared, conjuring a sandstorm. In the confusion, Wes had returned Flygon and donned his goggles.  
"You ready to give...up...yet?"  
In the confusion, they'd returned all their pokemon and escaped.  
"I guess we won."  
Wes returned Tyranitar.

N walked over to Wes.  
"Where do we look?"  
Wes shrugged.  
"We don't have a clue. But we should go home. We'll need the supplies and I think Natt might be able to help."  
"Can't you just send them a message?"  
"My PDA can't send, you know that."  
She ffacepalmed.  
"Sorry, I forgot."  
"Since things are more serious now, we should fly. It's faster."  
N nodded.  
"Zekrom can carry me, so..."  
N handed Wes Skamary's pokeball.  
"Rui, Zekrom's big enough to carry two people, so-"  
"Sure!"  
Wes nodded.  
"Meet me back on the shore."  
He sent out Skamary and mounted it. It flew off.

(POV:Wes)  
I didn't really think this was necessary. I just wanted some time to think. About N and Rui. Don't get me wrong. I didn't mind it, actually I liked the idea of her having someone other than me. There are two major reason for that. The first is that I...I don't feel like I _deserve_ her. The second is that I honestly don't believe I'll survive this, so I'm glad I won't be leaving her alone. It's just that he's such a wide-eyed, dream-filled idiot, and if I don't make sure he realizes what he's dealing with, he'll get them both killed.  
I sighed, looking ahead. That brat was going to be the end of me.

(third person)  
Wes suddenly had an idea and smiled to himself.  
"I think I owe a few people a visit...!"

N held out his hand, showing Rui the stone.  
"Interesting, but what...is...that?"  
"Zekrom."  
"But it's a rock."  
"You se,-"  
"You know what, you can explain once we're flying."  
"Right, sorry."  
The stone floated and lowed before bursting outward into the shape of Zekrom. It landed on its feet and lowered its head. N smiled and petted its head.  
"Zekrom, meet Rui."  
It roared in her face.  
"Ah, what the-"  
"Don't worry, he does that to everyone."  
N was smiling, about to laugh.

Rui reached up timidly.  
"Can I...?"  
N nodded.  
"He likes it, don't worry."  
It lowered its head and Rui petted it. It made a rumbling sound, much like a cat's purring.  
N smiled and clambered onto its back.  
"Come on, the view's great!"  
Rui smiled slightly, following suit.  
The mighty beast roared, hovering above the ground. Its wings spread and flapped up and down with a slow rhythm.  
Rui looked around, taking in their surroundings.  
"Now let's go!"  
Zekrom roared in agreement and flew off. Ruiv stayed down, clinging as hard as she could. N chuckled.  
"Don't worry, I won't let him drop you!"  
Rui stayed as she was.  
"I'm staying like this!"  
N smiled at her.

Rui stayed down, clutching the beast's back with all her might. The wind was whistling in both their ears and N's hair was billowing almost cartoonishly. He smiled at her.  
"There's nothing to be afraid of!"  
He opened his hand next to her face.  
"I'll hold your hand."  
She sighed and did so. He helped her up.  
"Wait, where are we going?"  
"Where do we need to?"  
Rui sighed and started giving directions to him. He relayed them to Zekrom, which complied.

Soon the continent of Orre was in view. Rui pointed.  
"There."  
Zekrom flew over Gateon, and the heat suddenly picked up by a great amount. Zekrom slowly descended and decelerated N narrowed his eyes.  
"Don't push yourself too hard, land."  
It made a grunting noise and landed. N and Rui dismounted and it slowly imploded into a stone on the ground. N picked it up and pocketed it. The blistering heat suddenly caught up to him.  
"Gh..."  
Sweat was already dripping down his face.

He started looking around.  
"There's nothing but sand!"  
He cried. Rui nodded.  
"This whole reigon is a desert. With a...few exceptions."  
He gave her a piitying look.  
"You live here?"  
She started walking back to Gateon.  
"Come on. The place we're going is too far to walk. At least for you."  
He followed.  
"How could you possibly-"  
"I don't. I live in a forest that's across the continent from here."  
He was slowly trudging along.

Soon they had gotten to Gateon. She walked over to Wes's motorcycle.  
"We have to wait for him."  
"What? We have to wait for h-"  
"Yes."  
N stood indignantly.  
"Fine...!"  
He walked over to a bench and sat down.

Rui looked up. After several minutes of waiting, Skamary came and landed. Wes got off.  
"I have some unfinished buisness I need to go take care of. In the mean time, how to get you two to Agate..."

He paused and fished around in his pocket.  
"Here. Use this."  
He pulled out some keys and threw them to Rui. She caught them, looking confused.  
"Wait a minute, you don't mean-"  
Wes nodded.  
"You just have to not give it too much throttle. It's easier than it looks."  
She gave the mechanical horror an afraid look.  
"Okaaayyy..."

Wes chuckled.  
"I'll be scouting around and when I get back, I'll know what to do."

N was staring at it.  
"That engine is huge..."  
He said with a tone containing a hint of interest, to Wes's surprise.  
"Well, you can learn how it works later. For now, I have to go."  
He faced Skamary, mounted, and flew off.  
N watched.  
"How can it-"  
"Progressive tolerance therapy."  
"What?"  
Rui put in the keys of his motorcycle and twisted. It roared in response to that, which startled N. He fell on his back.  
"Why is it so LOUD?"  
Rui faced him.  
"It'll be a long drive, so hold on."  
N got into the side car, watching the flames flickering as it waited for her to push the pedal.  
"N?"  
He looked over.  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
Sje sighed.  
"Don't blame me."  
"Don't blame for wha_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa__aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!?_

She had sent it forward at about half speed-the sudden shift had almost flung N out of the side car. He grabbed the side at the last second. After several minutes, he calmed down enough to exam the vehicular nightmare he was riding. The way it was designed was unlike any of the models he'd had as a kid, and the motor was far larger than it should have been. The pipes, if they weren't diagonal, would have looked like silver painted ones from a church organ. It had only a single wheel bigger than the ones used for a small car. That's when he noticed the fire. Flames about three quarters of an inch long where at the end of each pipe, thrusting the motorcycle forward. After a few minutes, he steeled himself enough to look down. Doing so revealed yet more to him. The over-sized wheel was the only part of the thing touching the ground. Considering it would only ever be going over sand, he figured that was to prevent sand from getting into the motor and ruining it. He realized that Rui was wearing goggles and his eyes had starting to sting.  
"Got a spare?"  
He had to shout to be heard over the sound of their ride.  
"Yes, but I'm wearing it!"  
She shouted back.  
"Sorry, but I need them more right now, and Wes forgot to hand over the other set!"  
(POV: N)  
Typical. Leave it to Wes to take the only other set. He probably had a tolerance by now and didn't need them. So I wanted to know hpw much more.  
"How much longer!"  
I shouted.  
"About 43 minutes!"  
She shouted back. What!? Forty three minutes!? I'd be deaf from the motor oor blind from the sand by then! I decided to wait a bit and then strike up some conversation. About four minutes passed before I felt the need to have a discussion.  
"I can't help but notice how much smoke this thing puts out!"  
I meant it too. I knew that cars and factories made a simalar smoke and that it killed plants and poisoned animals. All to get places faster. Only this was better and worse. It was worse because it made so much more (and it looked like a much more potent variety), but it was not as bad in a few ways. First, it didn't look like there was much of an ecosystem to destroy (which I hate to say is a good thing), and because it was actually necessary. If this thing took most of an hour, there's no way a human could cross on foot in such heat. I don't know why, but I didn't feel quite as hot in the motorcycle as in the sand.  
"Unfortunately, yes it does!"  
She cried, interrupting my train of thought.  
"But you'll love where we're going, it's different!"  
I wondered what she meant but didn't feel like asking. I realized that my mouth had sand in it and tried to spit it out, only to realize my mouth was dry and gag as more flew into my mouth.  
She must have seen me, because she chuckled.  
"You'll get used to it!"  
She yelled. I sighed. It was going to be a long ride.

Lovrina smiled at the newest batch of Shadows.  
"And that's that!"  
She returned them all to their pokeballs, dancing in place as she did.  
"Er, is that really necessary?"  
Asked someone behind her. She turned around.  
"You should knock before you enter a girl's room. Common courtesy."  
"This isn't your room."  
"Whatever. You better have something interesting to say."  
"Yes, I do. Ein's on the phone."  
He handed her a phone.  
She pressed the green button.  
"Yes, sir?"  
"Lovrina, I have a task. Enter room # 42."  
"Ooh, forty-two. I love that number!"  
She spouted as she did so. She walked there, where four pokeballs awaited her.  
"I see them. Four pokeballs, right?"  
"Correct. I want you to corrupt them, but they are all volatile with one exception, so you'll have to do so one by one. When it's over call Mirror."  
"The crazy guy with the afro?"  
"...yes."  
"Okay~!"  
She hung up, looking at them.  
"If Master Ein says you're volatile, you must be _fierce!_"

POV: Wes)  
Skamary landed me in front of a small oasis. It wasn't very distinct except for the crap-load of drugs being grown around it. This was the biggest hive of drug dealers in the continent. Usually in a place like Orre this would make it a huge, expansive area, but in Orre, the land limited it to...this, TOPS. It was about two acres wide, without the water though it was more like a half. There was a small building to the right. I smirked. I knew these guys did business with both Cipher and Snagem, and were an integral part of the latter's funding. They'd buy it here and sell it to...well basically anyone who wasn't lawful. Soo...sixty-three percent of Orre and thirteen per cent of everywhere else. For a much higher price, that ...well, that's how it went. Looking back I'm surprised I never bought anything from them. I guess I was just smarter than most of the grunts I worked with. Deciding to skip the formalities, I took out a pokeball and sent out Espeon. She nodded and blew the door in with psychic. Only one person, surprisingly, was inside. He looked over at me.  
"Wait, don't tell me..."  
Je walked towards me.  
"Wait a minute!"  
He whipped out a gun with his left arm..  
"I know who you are! You've got nerve, coming here! Cipher's got a price on your head, a hefty one."  
I smirked. Pulling a gun on me was a bad idea when Espeon was out and awake.  
"Why are you smiling?"  
"You're going to either tell me where Cipher is or shoot yourself."  
"What the hell kind of threat is that?!"  
His hand stiffened, but he did not shoot. He looked angry.  
"What the-"  
Espeon smiled.  
"Psychic powers."  
His arm rose and turned until he was pointing the gun at his left temple.  
"What the-?"  
"I know you know where Cipher is. Tell me or my cat here'll make your finger slip."  
"Th-they're set up in Mt. Chimney!"  
Pathetic. One legitimate threat to their life and they're begging for mercy. Knowing that Cipher would kill him for folding like that...  
"He's outlived his usefulness."  
His eyes widened for a moment before he fired...and then he was gone from the world of the living.

(POV: Wes)  
Ah, that moment where they realize I'm killing them anyway. I've only done it a few times but the satisfaction is quite worth it.  
I turned around to examine Skamary. It was moving just a bit slower, which ment that the sand and heat were getting to it. Since it had been flying, it would mainly be the heat, but still I knew it would push itself to passing out if I tried to fly on it all the back. Returning Espeon, I reached out and rested my hand on its head. Since the creature's feathers and skin were made of metal, it burned to touch. I didn't flinch.  
"Good boy. We're almost there."  
I returned Espeon and got on its back.  
"Agate city."  
It nodded and flew off.

(third person)  
Soon Agate Village was in sight. Rui parked the motorcycle before getting out and smiling at N.  
"Here!"  
N got out and looked up at the village.  
"It's...much nicer..."  
"Come on! I want to show you something!"  
She grabbed his hand and ran off.

Elissa was lying on her back, looking bored.  
"It's been two years since the whole Plasma fiasco..."  
She got up, turning around. However, her phone rang.  
"Hm..."  
She pulled it out.  
"I wonder what she wants..."  
She pressed the button.  
"Hey, could you meet me over in Mistralton city?"  
"Why?"  
Realizing it was recorded, she sighed.  
"Well, I don't have anything to do anyway."

Adler was watching two kids have a match.  
"With all due respect sir, we need to find Ghetsis!"  
"Calm down. He won't show himself soon. What we need is patience."

Rui led N into Shrine Forest. He stopped.  
"...It's so lively...how is this possible in such a desert?"  
"This place is protected by Celebi itself. That's how all the plants came to be."  
A blue flash came from her pocket. She pulled out her Sending Stone and focused on it.

_I'm staying at Agate for the night. I'll meet up with you in the morning.  
Okay, but-  
I'll be fine. I have a legendary and Umbreon and Espeon. Just make sure he doesn't get into trouble.  
Okay..._

She opened her eyes to see N leaning in looking at it.  
"Er-"  
"What's that?"  
He straightened his back and pointed at it.  
"It's a Sending Stone. Each one has another that it's bonded to. If two people hold them and focus on it, they can send each other, and anyone in the other's vicinity, their thoughts."  
N was nodding.  
"And who has the other one?"  
"Wes."

(POV: N)  
I somehow knew it would be Wes. I didn't know why, but something about how close they were really aggravated me. I did my best to ignore it.  
"Oh. Interesting!"  
I looked at the rock.  
"What's that?"  
"It's the Relic Stone. It's a shrine to Celebi."  
I walked over and put my hand on it.

She walked up to me.  
"We've only met it once. I was practicing with a flute Eugun gave me and when I looked up Celebi was sitting on that rock. We stared at it for a moment and then it flew off."  
The subject reminded me of something.  
"The Three Beasts...how did he befriend them?"  
She laughed. I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not.  
"He...didn't really...'befriend' them."  
Wait what?  
"But-"  
"He stole them."  
The blunt way she said it was jarring. How did the people he got them from get them? If they were loyal to him, did that mean the pokeballs he used work the way I used to think normal ones did? Or were their old owners just that bad?

"The sun's about to go down. I need to feed pikachu."

Soon Wes's Skamary made it to Phenac, barely managing to land. He got off and returned it. Looking up and seeing the dark sky, he sighed.  
"I guess I'll just sleep outside."  
He sent out Umbreon, then at down by the building with the Pokemon Center in it.

As it go cold a night, he curled into a ball. Umbreon watched his face.

Please review! It's my first fanfic, I need the criticism!


	5. A Look to the Past, For Insight

After he'd sat for a few minutes, Wes pulled out a revolver. It wasn't very heavy, and he'd never used it in his life. He looked it over with an absentminded look on his face. Knowing what that meant, Umbreon turned to look at his master's face. "...You wonder if it's got a bullet in it?"  
Umbreon nodded.  
"I may have only known him for a few seconds, but I don't think he was joking."  
Wes had gotten the gun and met Umbreon on the same day.  
"He reminds me of you, when you were younger. He has the same glimmer in his eyes."  
Wes continued to look at the firearm, silent. Knowing he was paying attention, Umbreon kept talking.  
"Do you remember Lisa?"  
The name struck a chord and Wes slowly nodded.  
"It's a shame she had to die, but that's how we met Espeon. And she'd probably be dead anyway..."  
Wes put the weapon back. "...Should we tell her about it?"  
Umbreon replied,  
"I don't know. I don't know.  
Umbreon closed his eyes.  
"...What did you think of your father?"  
Wes looked over at him, his bored expression gone.  
"I don't know, I was six."  
Umbreon sighed.  
"I keep forgetting."

Wes's face returned to the gun. "I remember like it was yesterday..."  
Umbreon walked over and laid down next to him, eyeing the weapon.  
"Would you mind telling me what you two said? All I remember is that you sounded upset and his voice started as flat but got angry."  
Wes blinked before realizing that he hadn't taught Umbreon English yet before laughing. Umbreon blinked before reading his mind.  
Both looked at each other for a few seconds before Umbreon lowered his head. "Fine, I'll just watch your memory."  
(Wes's memory)  
A young Wes was riding a Camerupt with his father.  
Young Wes looked up and saw a mirage of an oasis. Knowing that they were low on water, he hopped down and ran after it. No more than two seconds in he tripped. His father muttered and dismounted before walking over. Meanwhile, Wes looked at the small mound that had made him fall. Upon inspection it turned out to be a small Evee. Hurriedly he picked t up from the sand. brushing it clean, he realized t was watching him.  
"It's okay lttle guy..."  
His father was indifferent until Wes looked up and asked,  
"We have water for him, don't we?"  
At which he blinked.  
"Leave it. It's too small to be worth killing."  
"No! We can't just let him die!"  
"So you're saying we should waste valuable water keeping this little runt alive?"  
"It wouldn't be wasting it!"  
His father pulled out a gun and threw it to Wes's feet.  
"If you care so much, kill it and put it out of its misery."  
Wes glared.  
"I'm not killing him."  
"Good luck then."  
His father walked away and mounted once more. The great beast lumbered away and Wes stood, holding the tiny fox in his arms.

Wes opened his eyes and Umbreon withdrew, lookng confused.  
"I remember the conversation being longer..."  
Wes shrugged before returning the gun to his pocket. "...How old were you?"  
Umbreon paused and sifted through his mind for a moment.  
"...I couldn't have been more than a few months old, but I remember enough of it."  
Wes nodded. "You...told me. The day you evolved."  
Umbreon nodded.  
They both remembered the day. Wes had been living by himself and surviving via thevery for just half a month when someone saw him and attacked him. Unable to run, Umbreon, an Evee at the time, had fought and tried to help. In the middle of the struggle he'd evolved but still was knocked down and out. Wes had been forced to run and hide. After a whle, Wes had run off.

Wes started petting Umbreon. He hadn't since their first day working for Snagem. The memory flooded into his brain and, unbidden as it may have been, he allowed himself to relive that day.  
He had just ran off with the newly evolved Umbreon in his arms. He just barely managed to hide and sighed in relief.  
"Wooh...great. Now I have to steal a hundred poke to pay for a stay at the hotel..."  
He looked down at his injured friend.  
"That's what I get for being careless..."  
He looked over at an approaching man and froze.  
"Crap crap crap crap-"  
Th man smirked at him.  
"Got caught?"  
Wes gave him an angry glare. He recognized the man's attire: Snagem.  
"You know, if you became a part of the group, you wouldn't have to steal food. Course, you'd have to work for the money to buy it, but what you'd be stealing would prevent that. Here."  
He threw Wes a revive. Wes knew it was wrong, but he knew that at the rate they were going neither was going to survive. He lowered his head and nodded but made sure not to look like a disheartened child.

Bianca's Xtransever rang and she opened...surprised to see Black's and her mother.  
"Hello Mom! Any...news...on...Black?"  
She had noticed a despair-filled look on her face.  
"No, but his Samurott came home without him."  
"What?"  
"Not only that, it keeps walking in circles and making these really sad-sounding barking noises. I wish I knew what it was trying to tell me and-"  
"I know! N can talk to it!"  
"Who?"  
"The green-haired kid! He can talk to pokemon! Don't let it out of your sight!"

Bianca faced Cheren with a grim determination.  
"I need to borrow your Unnefezant."  
"What?"  
"Cheren. The bird. NOW."  
"Bia-"  
"I finally have a lead. I haven't seen my brother in years."  
Cheren npticed that she was crying. It felt awkward as the only person he'd ever seen cry was his younger sister White. "Please..."  
"Er..."

Adler put his hand on her shoulder.  
"I can't help but think you might be overreacting, Miss-"  
She shook him off.  
Cheren was holding out a pokeball.  
"I want to see my brother! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?"  
"Here. Sorry, it just came out of nowhere and-"  
Adler's rang and he answered. A few seconds later he hung up with a face of determination.  
"Something's going on. Zekrom was spotted heading for Orre-"  
"Go and make sure Henry's okay! I know where Orre is!"  
She sent out the majestic bird.  
"Take flight!"  
Bianca steered the majestic beast in the direction of Orre, almost forgetting to breath in the burst of resolve she'd just felt.  
Come on, you stupid bird, fly faster!  
She remembered Castelia, where her pokemon where stolen. The real pain came from the realization it could have happened just about anywhere, anytime, an the feeling had murdered what little ego she had. The fight she'd gotten into with her employer hadn't gone very well. Then her father had learned an tried to get her out of it a second time. She breathed in an looked over the horizon.  
"Please let him be okay..."  
After what felt like hours, the torn yellow landscape of Orre came into view. Bianca steered her brother's Unnefezant to the desert and landed. She got off and stood, trying to find someone she could ask for directions. However...a quick call of the bird caught her attention and she turned around.  
"What's a young girl like yourself doing in a place like this alone?"She took two steps back.  
Crap crap crap!  
She whistled for the bird and kept backing up.

Wes looked upwards and sighed.  
"...That was the first time I'd seen anyone die."  
The person he was referring to, Lisa, had been Espeon's original owner.

She had been on a boat during one of their bigger heists and the other members if Snagem had killed her and told Wes to check for any pokemon she had while they continued elsewhere. He found a baby Evee, and since it was so young, he hid it from the others and lied, stating he'd found nothing. Of course, being the wily thieves they were, they had found him out quickly. However, amused by his attempts and considering she was so young, and thus, useless to them, they had let him keep her. He had put his all into keeping her safe, until the day she had evolved. It was another scorching day and he had been given his motorcycle for the first time. He was thirteen at the time and had gotten used to his profession, almost forgetting about the people he was stealing from. After all, half of them were a bunch of pitiful scumbags that owed Snagem's boss money, and a good quarter of the remaining half wound up dead anyway.

"No. She wouldn't benefit from knowing."  
He said after a long pause. Then he walked over to the outskirts and laid down on his back. He sent out Espeon.  
"You two take turns keeping watch."  
He handed his sapphire to Espeon.  
"Wake me up if Rui says anything."  
He looked to the sky. The sun was setting, which cast an almost oppressive pink hue into the sky. That meant it would be nighttime soon; most people would go indoors to be out of the angry, bone-chilling cold that the moon brought with it in the desert.  
It must be about seven or so. Wes thought before closing his eyes.  
Rui had laid out food and pikachu was eating heartily. "You said you've known Wes for how long...?"  
Rui sighed. "We thought we'd destroyed Cipher a year and a half ago."  
"And you've known him?"  
She gave him an annoyed look.  
"It took us just under a month."  
He noded before kneeling over next to the Pikachu.  
"He's the closest thing you have to a family?"  
"...Er, yes..."  
N was petting the Pikachu, which looked at him confused.  
"...Where did you catch him?"  
N could tell it was male because of the shape of its tail.  
"Wait...those can't be found in Unova. How did you know-"  
"I read a lot of guidebooks about pokemon as a child. I also heard stories of scientists who would test things on them without knowing what would happen. But they valued humans too much to test it on them."

"Wait up!"  
Damnit I knew I shouldn't have said that!  
Grimsley called after her. It had been a while, so she hadn't realized who he was at first.  
"Could you really not think of a better way to show yourself?"  
At that, Grimsley chuckle slightly.  
"Sorry, bad habit. But...really. Why are you here?"  
He had pulled out a coin and started lightly flipping it with his thumb. It was an old habit of his from back when he hadn't met with Adler yet. She sighed.  
"Black's Samurott showed up at Mom's house without him and she says it looks worried. Adler told me that Zekrom was seen heading in this direction, so I came here to have N ask it what happened to Black."  
Grimsley nodded, his thumb continuing to nonchalantly toss the coin up and down until he spoke, when he grabbed the coin at the top of its arc. "...You know he's a fugitive, right?"  
"Nut-"  
"I'm just screwing with ya."  
He laughed and she tried to make herself look angry.  
"Anyway, you know how much the people love a scapegoat. And unfortunately, all of the cameras Cheren set up got destroyed when Ghetsis called out that infernal lizard thing of his, which was before the broadcast got anywhere."  
Bianca nodded bitterly, remembering the moment when Ghetsis had decided to stop talking and fight. She'd never forget the look on Shruikan's face as it erupted from below the castle in a fit screaming rage. "You know, I think it's odd."  
"What?"  
"That he...named it. It's more than Marshall can say."  
Bianca shrugged.  
"Probably so it could catch people off guard, I guess."  
Grimsley paused and looked at Cheren's Unnefezant. He broke out laughing a few seconds thereafter.  
"You were gonna cross the desert on that!? Kid, it would die."  
She knew he wasn't kidding and held her right arm in her left hand. "I hate to ask, but could you help me?"  
Grimsley had an amused smirk.  
"Why not? That is, if you'll pay."  
She nodded, not sure whether to be amused, angry, or insulted.  
"I'll pay you."  
"Very well."  
He looked around. "There should be a cab service somewhere..."  
Bianca finally looked around and took in her surroundings. She was in a small coastal city, full of small buildings, ships, and people going about their business.  
"It's like a miniature Castelia..."  
Bianca muttered to herself.

Bianca realized that Grimsley had walked off and ran after him.  
"So...I heard from Aler that Black had gone missing, but he didn't say when."  
Bianca sighed. She'd remembered it perfectly. How he'd spent days on end looking through Juniper's papers and resources looking for something he refused to disclose. How he'd shrug questions off before you could ask them and developed a creepy way of knowing exactly what to say to get what he wanted...which was invariably either "look up such and such" or "leave me alone".

"Er, Bianca? I know it's a painful question and all, but-"  
"No, I'm fine."  
She sighed.  
"He left two months after Ghetsis's defeat. So..."  
She looked at her fingers, doing the math in her head. "A year and a half."  
Grimsley nodded slowly.  
"I'm glad he's not gone. I know what it's like to lose a family member. I know it all too well..."  
He shook his head.  
"But enough worrisome talk! Let's go ask the WMNT for his help!"  
Bianca gave him a O_o look.  
"Come again?"  
"WMNT-World's Most Naive Terrorist."  
She broke out laughing for a good two minutes before stopping.

Bianca kept walking. "So, why are we looking for a cab?"  
"I think I know where he is. He probably went to Agate to visit the shrine to Celebi which is over there."  
Bianca stopped.  
"Wait a minute, Grimsley."  
Gimsley stopped in his tracks and turned back.  
"What is it?"  
"How do you know so much about this place?"  
He chuckled.  
"There are some really good gambling spots here."  
He added in a hurried manner. Bianca was not convinced, to put it lightly.

"Anyway, I've heard some rumors about a Celebi Shrine. And knowing him..."  
Bianca nodded.  
"Hey, Grimsley?"  
He sighed.  
"What is it now?"  
"He was with a girl who looked like Misty an a guy in a blue longc-"  
"Did he have a metal arm?"  
She nodded, unnerved by the speed of his response. "His eyes were yellow and he had sandy blonde hair."  
Grimsley broke out laughing. "No, he's famous around here. Supposedly fought off some evil organisation or two. I think they call him the 'Blue Phantom' or something 'cuzza the long-coat."  
She slowly nodded.  
"He's definitely in Agate then."  
He walked forward.  
"Time to get a cab!"

And so Grimsley hired a taxi driver to take himself and Rui to Agate. He kept a gun out the whole ride, much to Bianca's chagrin, as a safety measure. While this took place, Wes began to drift off into sleep and N continued to ask random questions to learn more about Rui.

While this happened, the younger Juniper dropped by the Hilbert household.  
"Good morning Miss..."  
She trailed off as her eyes drifted to the great beast in the same room as them.  
"If I may so ask, is that..."  
Black's mother nodded.  
"It had the same collar on it."  
Juniper walked over and petted it.  
"It's distressed for some reason..."  
"I think it's trying to tell me something, which is odd because it never really did that before. It was never very vocal..."  
"Who knows, maybe it was only quiet when Black dropped by here?"  
Black's mother looked over to the great seal-whatever-the-hell-it-is and sighed.  
"I hope my son is okay..."  
Juniper blinked.  
"I came to let you know that Skyla saw Zekrom while she was delivering some cargo. According to Aler, Bianca's going to try and fin him so he can see what's wrong."

N, bored, looked around the living room. He found a large book and opened. "What the...it's just a bunch of pages with really sloppy handwriting. Who..."  
Rui blinked.  
"Er...that would be Wes."  
N blinked.  
"I knew he wouldn't write much but-"  
"When we met, he couldn't read."  
N was taken aback.  
"Huh? How?"  
"You think that a large criminal operation would bother teaching its members things that didn't relate to what they did?"  
"And that is...?"

Rui clamped her teeth together.  
"Er...nothing...my tongue slipped."  
N noticed how red her face was.  
"Your face os all red...you're lying, aren't you?"  
"-no! What gave you that idea?"  
N crossed his arms.  
Maybe she sticks around him for the same reason my sisters...what did White call it? Ah yes, Stockholme Syndrome!  
"Look, if you're afraid he'll hurt you if-"  
She started laughing uncontrollably.  
"It's not him I'm worried about."  
"Then tell me! If he was a part of a criminal organization and I thought bad of him for it, I'd be no better than those in Plasma who knew my father's plan!"  
I guess there's no hiding it at this point. Sadly...  
"He use to be a part of Snagem. And he was a legend among them. Almost like you were to Plasma only...not at all."  
Whaddya mean like me but not at all!?  
"And Snagem What where they?"  
"...An evil group who...stole pokemone from their trainers..."  
"What? You need to be louder."  
Rui repeated herself, louder this time. N was taken aback. He stared at her blankly for a few seconds...and then ran off.  
"N, wait!"

He was nearly in the jungle when she caught up with him.  
"WAIT!"  
He stopped.  
"No I will not be traveling with someone who would go so far as to st-"  
"Plasma probably did the same."  
"I didn't. And if they were set free after, they could return to their owners or stay free! They'd have a choice! But not like that. Not-"  
Rui was giving him such a cold stare that he was silenced by it.  
"Er, Rui...?" "He only joined them to keep Umbreon alive."  
N shook his head.  
"No. He's lying to you. There's always a-"  
"No. You. Don't. Understand. What. He's. Been. Through. He had no choice. And becides, he's changed!"  
"How many pokemon has he set free?"  
"..one..."  
"Exactly. How many has he caught?"  
"Forty eight. Shadows."

N paused. "Wait...what do you mean, to keep Umbreon alive? How could joining such retched, miserable people, with such little regard for pokemon, POSSIBLY HELP HIM!"  
N was seething. He had known Wes would be untrustworthy, a conclusion that Eugun had made as well. It brought up a memory. When the two had met Wes had been sent off by Eugun. A short time later some members of Cipher had showed up and attacked me. One of them had used a Shadow Hitmontop to effortlessly defeat Eugun and then took me hostage with a gun. I'd never been so scared in my life...  
"I trust him with my life."  
N was still angry but now he was confused.  
"Wh...whah? Why? She paused.  
"You...wouldn't understand..."  
His hands balled into fists.  
"Yes! Yes I would! IF YOU WOULD JUST TELL ME!"  
She took a breath. "Consider this. There's no life in the desert. So no food."  
N nodded, it was common sense to him.  
"So food is rare and hard to come by."  
He paused and then kept nodding. Easy to grasp however he did not see where she was going.  
"So when Wes and his father came upon a small Evee..."  
He stopped.

"It was too small to eat but if they kept it, they'd have to feed it. They were strapped enough with a Camerupt and two people, so they had to leave it behind."  
N squinted. Knowing how Wes was this wasn't hard for him to imagine.  
"When he protested his father handed him a gun and told him to put it out of its misery."  
N looked down. He knew what guns were: Noisy horrible things humans used that only existed to take life: The second most horrible invention in his eyes (As he had yet to see the machines which Ein used; pokeballs were first).  
"And Wes refused. This caused his father to leave him in the desert. ALONE."  
N still didn't get it.  
"So? Can't he just beg for food or something?"

"That wouldn't get him anywhere. So he had to become a theif. And eventually, he got the chance to join Team Snagem, who would provide him enough money to feed himself and his Umbreon."  
N turned around.  
"...There had to be another way. That was just the easy way out. Nothing could have excused tha-"  
"You're right. It doesn't excuse what he did. That's why he's trying to redeem himself."  
She'd said it with such emotion that N couldn't bring himself to argue.

Juniper smiled at Bianca's and Black's mother.  
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine! If Samurott wasn't hurt, Black's probably okay."  
She nodded.  
"I hope so..."

Soon a forest came into view. Grimsley tood the driver to stop and wait for them before getting out of the car By now the sky was practically black as no stars were visible quite yet.  
"Bianca?"  
"Yes?"  
"Are you sure you want to keep going? It's freezing here at night, and it's probably for the better to stay here for a night."  
"...Fine."  
Grimsley said something to the driver and handed him some money, after which the cab sped off.

"Alright, step one is complete."  
"What?"  
"Step one: Hire cab. Step two: Get N to help us. Step three: head off to Nueva. Step four: N talks to-"  
"Okay, okay, I get it. Come on."  
They ran off and intruded on the arguement right as N yelled "IF YOU WOULD JUST TELL ME!".  
As they finished, N hung his head for a moment before lifting it.  
"Er...should we...say something?"  
Rui, now that the conversation had ended, looked up.  
"Wait, how long have you been there?"  
"Not very."  
N turned around, taking a moment to recognize Grimsley.  
"...Hello..."

Bianca walked over to him.  
"You can still talk to pokemon, right?"  
She spoke with a determination that he mistook for anger. He reached for the Black Stone in his pocket. "Yes, why do you ask?"  
She surprised him by getting on her hands and knees. "Black's Samurott came home and it looks pressured and it kept barking and Mom and you can talk to pokemon and Black wasn't with it and he's been gone for days! Please...!"  
He paused and backed up "Wait, Black's missing?"

She looked up at him Her eyes were swollen: she was crying. N had never seen her do so, in fact she was one of the most solid humans he knew, next to Cheren. "Er..."  
So Black had gone missing?  
"Eh? Black went missing?"  
She nodded "I think Henry might know where he is."  
Henry: The name Black had given to his Dewott after it evolved. He'd even had one for each of its others as well: First it was Baby Seal, then he called it Mildew, then he named it...Henry. The fact he named it after a human had baffled N, but apparently he, Cheren, and Bianca had agreed to name their pokemon after rulers once they evolved completely.

"Can I talk to your starter first?"  
"Why? I don't mind, but knowing what you pulled with Cheren and White..."  
N recoiled visibly. Cheren, the first time they actually fought, refused to use his Servine no matter how much better suited it was than his other pokemon. When he finally did, he had been...nervous. It always took him a moment to decide what it should do, and he'd been red in the face the whole time. Of course, despite , being against a weakened Tympole, it had lost. Cheren had simply returned it wordlessly and then spouted that he didn't particularly like using pokemon and that he preferred his fists.

"N?"  
Rui asked, bringing him back to the present.  
"Sorry, he does that a lot."  
N looked at her.  
"I promise I won't try anything. I just want to ask it something."  
She shrugged and sent out her Emboar. It looked around a bit.  
"Embe boa?" (Where are we?)  
"Would you mind answering a few questions"  
It looked at you.  
"Ar!...Emem bora, Bor?" (Oh!...You're that green guy, right?)  
He nodded.  
"Emb!" (NO!)  
"No you won't, or no you don't mind?"  
"Ebem!" (Second!)  
N nodded.  
"Thank you. This isn't a trap, is it?"  
"E...Embra..." (N..Not that I know...)  
"How long has Black been gone?"  
"Emboarar...arora." (Her brother?...a while.)

N nodded again.  
"Thank you."  
He looked back to Bianca.  
"I know enough."  
She nodded and returned Napolean.  
"It's getting dark, and Grimsley says we should stay here..."  
Rui rubbed her chin, lost in thought.  
Seems like N's concerned, so I don't want to send them off. But how...unless I let them use my and Wes's rooms and have one of them sleep on the couch, with me in the forest...  
Grimsley spoke like he knew what she was thinking.  
"I can sleep on the floor or outside . After all, I'm the mature one here."  
Okay, that was a rude way to put it.  
"Okay then, still...one of us has to sleep outside and-"  
N spoke up.  
"I will! I wouldn't mind being outside near that shrine!"  
"Okay then. I use my room, Bianca gets Wes's, N sleeps in the forest and Grimsley...wherever else."  
And thus was the arrangement. In the morning...

Rui grabbed her Sending Stone.  
Wes!  
The answer surprised her.  
I'm almost there. I'll switch Skamary for Flygon when I get there!  
She yawned.  
"Guess I should wake everyone up..."

"You mentioned something about what he did with Cheren and White..."  
"All right, before we go any further, I should clarify. I'm Bianca Touko, from Novema Town. My younger brother, Black Touko, is who we're looking for. Cheren, the persson you met, is the son of Black City's mayor. His younger sister, White Touya, didn't journey like Cheren, Black and I, but she did visit the cities where we were, from time to time. The first instance was in Nacrene City, which is effectively a big amusement park attached to a smallish city. she wanted to surprise Cheren, so she showed up there and said hi. But what we didn't expect Plasma to go there while we were passing through Cheren, for safety, let her borrow her Servine. She got into a battle with N, but he convinced the Servine to destroy its pokeball an run away."  
Rui nodded slowly.  
"...I see."

She didn't dare ask another question lest Bianca go off on another tangent, but she figured she should confirm something.  
"So you're Black's older sister."  
Bianca nodded. "Correct."

Grimsley looked at Rui.  
"So, where're your parents, anyway?"  
"They're both dead."  
Rui responded in a surprisingly, in fact jarringly, matter-of-fact way.  
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."  
Rui shrugged.  
"I'm over it, don't worry about me."

Grimsley walked down the stairs, which prompted Bianca and Rui to follow him. At the bottom of the stairs, Grimsley walked to the kitchedn where he stopped.  
"So, I hear you're friend is the Blue Phantom."  
Rui sighed. She hated when people called him that. It just sounded so...stupid. Besides, noone in Orre actually called him that, it was the news anchors who had jokingly called him a phantom at one point. So when the broadcast of his finale went international, the other nations' anchors called him that. Name stuck.  
"Just call him Wes."  
"Heh. Such familiarity towards someone I've never even met?"  
Rui nodded, trying to stay calm. She disliked talking about him to strangers, and she just got a bad vibe from him. "By the way, who are you?"  
"Oh, me? I'm Grimsley. Elite four gentleman extraordinaire!"  
He finished the sentence in a sort of a ridiculous way that was supposed to be funny.

Rui shook her head.  
"...What now?" "You know, Elite Four. You gotta fight through all of us in turn before getting to the Champion."  
Somehow that system seemed ridiculous. How do you know the champion only won because his opponent had just gone through four battles?  
"Wow. That system is just..."  
"Counterproductive? Yes, yes it is. Unova just doesn't make sense." Well, that was something Rui couldn't argue with.

"Anyway, N was talking to a Togetic a few minutes ago, and I thought it was interesting. That's when I-"  
Rui checked her bag. Inside, there was only one pokeball. "That little-" He ran outside to see it flying around eratically with N watching. He looked over to Rui with an expression of dull surprise. "Oh, hello!"

"Please tell me you only did that with only my pokemon."  
"Any reason why?"  
"Because ol people don't like being stolen from. Besides, these are their only companions they have left."  
"If so, then why-"  
"Just answer my question."  
"I only talked to yours. Your Togetic here had some...interesting topics in its head. Something about being a turkey all along..?"  
Somehow Rui wasn't surprised.  
"Well, the other pokeballs, please?"  
He returned them to her. She put them in her bag. "Ready to meet an old friend?" He nodded, only for a Flygon cry to interrupt them. Wes flew in on his stolen Flygon, Crescent, and landed in the village.  
"Not leaving without me, I hope!"  
"I wish I-"  
Surprisingly, N was cut off by Bianca of all people.  
"What is that arm for, anyway? I doubt its real."  
"Oh, it works fine."  
"But what does it-"  
"Two hour timecard, please!"  
Two hours later...

The group was just outside Nuvema, surrounded by them smells of nature and the color green.

Bianca took a deep breath. Let me go first. My mom doesn't really know that you and Black saw each other as friends."  
She went forward and entered the house. Juniper looked over at Bianca and smiled..  
"It's nice to see you, Bianca! The thought of you, Cheren, and Adler against Ghetsis and those psycho lackies of his..."  
Bianca looked down. She knew they were all thinking of the same thing. "Sorry, but I'm coming back as often as I can."  
Her mother nodded before looking over at the Samurott. Bianca walked over and petted it, then faced the door.  
"Remember that green-haired kid?"  
"Yes. He was the leader of that cult you and Black stopped, right?"  
Bianca nodded. Cheren had helped too but she didn't feel like correcting her mother.  
"He could talk to pokemon, so I brought him here."

"What? Why did you-why would you-"  
"It's okay. We need all the needs we can get."  
Juniper had cut her off. "Fine, but I don't like this. If he tries anything!"  
Bianca noded. She knew that it wouldn't be pretty.  
"Come on Henry,"  
She lead the Samurott outside. It seemed confused, at least until it saw N. Then...all hell broke loose. Its eyes wide with rage, its mustache...thing...bristling, it rushed forward towards N.

(POV: N)  
I'd never seen him, or any pokemon other than Shruikan, so angry at a human. Throwing myself out of the way as it charged at me, I felt like my lungs had been frozen solid.  
"What the-why...?"  
I tried to ask it what was wrong but it was already on me, and with a savage twist of its head brought down the blade on its shell. I moved out of the way at the last second at its sword got stuck, but I was pinned. Struggle though I did, it was too heavy to shake off. Stammering with terror, I tried to reason with it.  
"Please, stop! I just want to help!"  
"IT'S YOUR FAULT!"  
It convulsed violently as it tried with all its might to dislodge the instrument of death from the ground.  
"It's my fault...what!?"  
It just growled at me. It started shaking and shrieking with frustration. It was rambling and screaming in such a manner that its voice was like a symphony of unrelated topics-and it was starting to sound like nails being drawn across a chalkboard. I just barely managed to discern the name Black among its ramblings.  
"Please, just tell me where he is! I want to help!"  
It managed to pull the sword from the ground with a great motion that, uncontrolled in the ferocity he employed, threw his head upwards, releasing a spray of dirt from the ground. My heart stopped cold.  
I'm about to die, aren't I?

As its head decended towards my neck, I braced myself. Tears slowly ran down my face as I tried to figure out why Henry had attacked me. Black had been so forgiving in the end, I don't see how I-  
(third person)  
"DODGE!"  
Wes had run in and used the curve of his sword to trap Henry's in place. "Look, 'm trying to help!"  
It gave him an angry glare, shaking with strain as it tried to force the blade downwards.  
"Now, where's your owner?"  
It lashed at Wes, causing him to have to jump away. By then, N had moved, forcing it to locate him again. However, something was off. It's eyes pulsed a pink light for a few seconds before it flew a few feet up and away, crashing on the ground unconscious.

Espeon looked at it.  
"Unless it fooled its own mind, Black's in Johto."

Espeon paused and focused on the Samurott.  
"Eeessh."  
"What?"  
N was worried. Henry's attacking him, coupled with Espeon's reaction, had him on edge.  
"We gotta get there fast."  
Spouted Espeon with a sort of urgency, her tail twitching about erratically in an aggravated manner. "He's apparently been on Mount Silver this whole time."  
Bianca jolted. "What? He's been on a mountain this whole time? WHY!?"  
"I don't think the...er...whatever it is...knows why at all. It just knows it had something to do with N. And if its memories are correct, Black is...starving himself."

Bianca had heard enough.  
"All right, that's it!"  
She sent out Unnefezant.  
"Fly! TO JOHTO!"  
The bird took off, leaving Grimsley, N, Rui, and Wes behind to race off at breakneck speeds.  
Grimsley face palmed, his expression an annoyed one.  
"She really didn't have to do that...leaving us here like that."  
Wes was equally agitated.  
"Do you know where this Mount Silver is?"  
Grimsley lowered his arm and shook his head in response. "No. She just took off at the mention of Johto. And Adler said she was the calm one..."

"It's a common event."  
A female voice interrupted them. Proffesor Juniper had been watching them with Mrs. Touya. "Many people are like that: They're normally calm and assertive, but become rash when close to an emotional pinnacle."  
Wes wasn't paying attention; he distrusted scientists for a multitude of reasons. The main was that they were almost always incompetent when it came time to defend themselves. Of course, the worst one he'd met was void of that flaw. Juniper talked a little more before concluding. It was then that N noticed Mrs. Touya. "Oh, you must be Black's mom! I'm-"  
He silenced himself when he saw the angry glare he was receiving. Professor Juniper decided to conclude the conversation herself.  
"Anyone have a Xtransever?"  
Wes shook his head.  
"I have no idea what the hell that is, and I don't-"  
Rui cut him off.  
"No. No ma'am."  
Grimsley pulled his out. "Good! Just wait here a second-"

She walked to her lab and entered. N shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He was strongly offset by the continuous look from Black's mother. After a few minutes, Professor Juniper came out with a microchip.  
"Here. Plug it in."  
Grimsley followed the instruction and after about half a minute, a world map ha been installed. Rui paused.  
"Hey Wes, that would probably work with your PDA!"  
He sighed and pulled it out after a moment's thought. Grimsley pulled the chip out and handed it to Wes. It took him a minute to find out that his PDA didn't have a space for such a thing, so after some fiddling, he returned it to Professor Juniper.

"I guess he'll just be the only one with a reliable map."  
Grimsley sent out Honchcrow, Wes sent out Flygon, and N summoned Zekrom from its ball form. Mrs. Touya and Juniper stepped back from how suddenly it appeared and how large it was. After muttering something about the Law of Conservation of Mass, Professor Juniper waved goodbye. N and Rui climbed and mounted Zekrom while while the others simply hopped onto their respective steeds. Honchcrow flew off with Flygon and Zekrom tailing it.

The flight took several minutes, with N nervously eyeing Wes' Flygon as they went along. It wasn't long before Rui noticed.  
"Er, N?"  
He slowly looked over to her. She was still clutching onto Zekrom while lying on her front like she was the last time she rode on it. He wasn't sure why; he wouldn't push her off!  
"Why are you doing that?"  
He asked with a sort of concern in his voice. Thing earned him a rather quizzical look from Rui.  
"That's what I was going to ask you."  
"Eh? Why would you ask me that?"  
With an exasperated sigh, Rui dropped it.  
"Nothing."  
"So? Are you afraid I'll push you off?"  
She chuckled a bit, her eyes pointed straight down.  
"No. I'm afraid of heights."

"Why? I'm not going to let you fall off! You don't trust me?"  
Rui rolled her eyes. N's naievete was annoying her, if only because of its timing. She had no traumatic experience, she wasn't paranoid, and she wasn't afraid of falling. She just didn't like high places that didn't feel secure. Riding a giant bird she was okay with when necessary-but only when flying "low" so she wouldn't fall far. The immense emptiness beneath her was terrifying-on a bird she had plumage and wings to distract her. At least, if it wasn't a Skamary. That she was too busy dodging the wings to notice. She could usually hide it around Wes but since N paid so much attention to her she wasn't surprised he found out so fast. "Why? You're not going to fall, so..."  
"Look, I'm afraid of heights. So just let me know when we get there."  
It was a bit harsh a thing to say, but it succeeded in ending the conversation.  
In the meantime N's eyes returned to Wes' Flygon.

Grimsley, meanwhile, was muttering to himself in an annoyed fashion. Why did he have to follow them!? It was a boy; even if he decided to stage an uprising or something equally ridiculous, he couldn't possibly follow through with it. He hadn't felt so bewildered since he saw a Pizza Shack: Support the Revolution commercial for the first time. All of them rode on in silence; Wes plotting, Grimsley complaining to himself, Rui hanging on for dear life and N trying to make sense of Wes, as he had done so many times before. Half an hour passed and Wes switched to Skamary mid-jump. More time...and longer...and longer.

But even as long as it took, they were not prepared for what they were about to behold. 


End file.
